in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/journaloftriptol00thom_0 


See  page  lo9. 


JOURNAL 


OF  A 


TRIP  TO  LONDON,  PARIS, 


AXD  TIIE 


GREAT  EXHIBITION, 

IX 


1851. 


BY  ZADOCK  THOMPSON 


BURLINGTON : 

PUBLISHED  BY  NICHOLS  & WARREN. 

GEO.  J.  STACY,  PRINTER. 

1851. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  Year  18ol, 
By  ZADOCK  THOMPSON, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  tiie  Eistrict  Court  of  Vermont. 


PREFATORY  REMARKS. 


Gratitude  is,  in  itself,  a most  delightful  emotion  ; but  it  is  possi- 
ble for  the  warmest  gratitude  to  be  so  associated  and  mingled  with 
a sense  of  unrequited  favors,  as  to  leave  the  balance  doubtful,  be- 
tween the  pleasure  of  the  one  and  the  pain  of  the  other.  I speak 
from  experience  ; for  while  the  good  opinion,  and  the  kindness  of 
my  many  friends  in  Burlington,  have  been  to  me  a source  of  the 
deepest  pleasure,  I have  been,  at  the  same  time,  deeply  pained  to 
think  how  little  I have  done  to  merit  their  favors,  and  how  little  1 
can  do  to  repay  them.  Although,  from  my  own  experience,  I can 
hardly  speak  otherwise  than  as  a recipient,  yet  I can  well  conceive 
circumstances  in  which  it  maybe  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. 
Such  would  be  the  case,  when  the  giver,  with  proper  motives,  gives 
for  a worthy  object,  and  when  the  receiver  receives,  conscious  that 
he  is  totally  unworthy  of  the  favor  bestowed. 

During  my  recent  trip  to  Paris  and  London,  I took,  for  my  own 
convenience,  short  notes  of  my  progress,  and  of  occurrences,  from 
day  to  day.  Since  my  return,  some  of  my  friends  have  expressed 
a w*ish  that  I would  allow  my  Journal,  containing  these  notes,  to 
be  published.  Gratitude  to  them  forbids  my  refusal  : but  I consent 
to  its  publication,  not  that  I am  ambitious  to  produce  a book  of 
travels,  nor  that  I expect  the  public  to  derive  much  information  or 
amusement  from  its  perusal,  but  simply  to  place  in  the  hands  of  my 
most  kincLfriends,  a trifling  memorial  of  my  gratitude  to  them'  for 
the  means,  voluntarily  furnished,  without  which  I could  never  have 
experienced  the  pleasure,  or  have  written  a Journal  of  a personal 
trip  to  the  Old  World — without  which  I could  never  have  had  the 
opportunity  I have  enjoyed,  of  beholding  the  wonders  of  the  great 
deep,  and  of  seeing  and  admiring  the  wonderful  things  of  nature 
and  art  which  lie  beyond  it . 


VI. 


PREFATORY  REMARKS. 


The  World’s  Fair,  having  been  rather  the  occasion,  than  the  ob- 
ject, of  my  visit  to  Europe,  may  not  fill  so  large  a space  in  my 
Journal  as  some  may  expect.  I spent  several  days  at  the  Crystal 
Palace,  admiring  that  marvellous  building  and  its  wonderful  con- 
tents, and  have  recorded  a few  general  observations  respecting  them  ; 
but  years  would  be  required  to  examine  them  all,  and  volumes  to 
describe  them. 

Much  has  been  said  respecting  the  meagreness  of  the  American 
department  of  the  Exhibition,  and,  verily,  I think  myself  it  was 
meagre,  compared  with  what  it  might  have  been.  But  it  well  rep- 
resented our  country,  being  a large  space  only  partly  filled.  Our 
articles  were  plain  and  substantial,  but  not  showy.  Hence,  it  pre- 
sented little  attraction  to  the  superficial  observer,  and  was  some- 
times passed  with  a sneer,  by  the  admirers  of  the  gewgaws  and 
tinsel  of  other  departments.  A little  careful  observation,  however, 
was  all  that  was  needful  to  learn  the  fact,  that  real  merit  might  lie 
concealed  under  an  unpromising  exterior — that  the  American  arti- 
cles would  compare,  favorably,  with  those  of  the  same  kind  from 
any  other  country. 

Two  circumstances  operated  much  to  our  disadvantage,  especially 
in  the  view  of  superficial  observers.  In  the  first  place,  we  attempt- 
ed to  occupy  about  three  times  as  much  space  as  we  sent  over  ma- 
terials to  fill.  In  the  second  place,  the  accommodations  and  fixtures 
were  not  such  as  to  exhibit  our  articles  to  the  best  advantage ; nor 
was  there  sufficient  care  bestowed  in  giving  them  a neat  and  orderly 
arrangement,  and  in  keeping  them  clean  and  in  their  places  after- 
wards. When  entering  the  American  department,  the  first  gen- 
eral impression  seemed  to  be,  that  of  entering  a division  of  the 
building  from  which  the  choice  articles  had  been  mostly  removed, 
leaving  little  more  than  the  rough  fixtures  and  remnants  of  goods 
scattered  around  in  disorder  and  covered  with  dust.  This,  I say, 
seemed  to  be  the  first  general  impression.  But  this  impassion  was 
8 Don  removed  from  the  minds  of  those,  who  had  the  patience  to  ex- 
amine into  the  intrinsic  merits  of  our  articles ; and  such  left  our 
department  with  no  disposition  to  sneer  at  the  ingenuity  and  skill 
of  the  Americans.  And,  had  we  occupied,  in  the  Crystal  Palace, 
no  more  space  than  the  proper  disposition  of  our  articles  required, 
and  had  our  General  Government  provided,  as  it  appears  to  me 


PREFATORY  REMARKS. 


vii. 

it  should  have  done,  for  the  suitable  exposition  and  care  of  them, 
the  American  department,  with  only  the  materials  we  had  there, 
might  have  appeared  creditable,  at  the  first  view  of  the  hundreds  of 
thousands,  as  it  was  fully  acknowledged  to  be , by  the  hundreds 
who  had  the  patience  to  examine  it. 

But  notwithstanding  the  sneers  of  foreigners  and  the  professed 
shame  of  some  of  our  own  countrymen,  on  account  of  the  meagre- 
ness of  the  American  contributions  to  the  Exhibition,  in  its  earlier 
stages,  the  state  of  things  was  materially  changed  before  its  close. 
Foreigners  were  at  length  compelled,  (reluctantly,  indeed,)  to  ac- 
knowledge our  superiority  in  some  things ; and  the  desponding 
Americans  were,  consequently,  again  enabled  to  hold  up  their  heads. 
As  Brother  Jonathan  made  his  debut  in  the  Crystal  Palace  in  his 
back-woods  dress,  the  refined  and  burnished  specimens  of  humanity 
of  the  old  world,  looked  upon  him  at  first  as  demi-savage — half  In- 
dian— little  advanced  in  the  arts  beyond  the  fabrication  of  stone 
hatchets  and  arrow-heads  and  bone-knives  ; but  long  before  the 
close  of  the  Exhibition,  his  despised  ploughs  were  able  to  open  a 
furrow  in  the  turf  which  covered  their  eyes,  his  reaping  7nachineS 
mowed  a swarth  through  their  prejudices,  and  his  keys  unlocked 
their  sentiments  of  respect  and  confidence— yea,  and  his  yachts 
were  wafted  gracefully  by  the  breath  of  popular  applause. 

The  following  Journal  contains  brief  notes  for  each  day,  from  the 
time  of  my  departure  from  Burlington,  till  I again  reached  my 
home.  They  were,  for  the  most  part,  written  at  the  close  of  the 
day,  just  before  retiring  to  rest,  often  under  great  inconveniences, 
and  with  no  expectation  that  they  w’otild  ever  be  published  in  their 
present  form.  I wrote  them  for  myself  and  family,  and  I permit 
them  to  be  published  in  their  original  form,  with  very  few  changes, 
cither  of  abatement  or  addition,  as  a token  of  gratitude  to  my  per- 
sonal friends,  knowing  that  they  will  be  indulgent  to  their  imper- 
fections, both  in  matter  and  manner.  Others  may  think  that  I 
have  recorded  too  much  of  every  day  occurrences — that  I have  re* 
peated,  too  often,  my  hour  of  retiring  at  night  and  of  rising  in  the 
morning.  To  such,  I would  merely  express  the  wish,  that  the  reit- 
erated exhibition  of  a good  example  of  early  rising,  may  induce 
others  to  copy  it.  And  to  any  who  may  think  that  I have  said  too 
much  respecting  myself,  my  health,  &c.,  I would  reply,  that  these 


viii. 


PREFATORY  REMARKS. 


were  matters  in  which  I felt  a deep  personal  interest,  and  “ out  of 
the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.”  But  I am  happy 
now,  in  being  able  to  state  that,  notwithstanding  my  indisposition 
while  abroad,  I find  that,  on  the  whole,  my  health  is  decidedly  im- 
proved by  my  excursion  ; and  I desire  that  these  pages  may  go  forth 
as  a thank-offering  to  my  friends,  accompanied  by  my  earnest  prayer 
that  the  Lord  will  reward  them  abundantly  for  their  kindnesses. 

Z.  THOMPSON. 

Burlington,  Dec.  1,  1851. 


I 


Having  completed  arrangements  for  that  purpose,  I 
left  Burlington  in  the  Steamer,  Whitehall,  Capt.  La- 
th rop,  in  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  May,  1851,  and,  at 
half  past  six  o’clock  the  next  morning,  took  the  cars  at 
Whitehall  for  Troy,  where  I arrived  about  10  o’clock. 
At  Troy  I was  detained  till  evening,  when  I went  on 
board  the  Steamer,  Empire,  for  New  York,  where  I 
met  several  friends  from  Burlington,  who  had  left  that 
place  in  the  morning  and  had  come  down  Irom  White- 
hall in  the  afternoon  train.  It  was  daylight  in  the 
morning  of  the  29th  before  we  had  passed  the  High- 
Lands,  and  the  beautiful  scenery  thence  to  New  York 
was  exhibited  to  fine  advantage  in  the  clearness  and  se- 
renity of  the  morning.  The  view  of  the  Palisades,  il- 
luminated by  the  rising  sun.  was  strikingly  beautiful 
and  grand  ; and,  together  with  the  line  of  the  Croton 
aqueduct  and  the  Hudson  river  rail  road  seen  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  and  the  many  charming  towns 
and  villages  and  country  seats,  which  adorn  its  banks, 
rendered  our  approach  to  the  city  of  New  York  exceed- 
ingly interesting  and  delightful. 

We  reached  the  city  a little  after  7 o’clock  in  the 
morning,  and  I proceeded  immediately  to  the  Irving 

House,  where  I was  cordially  received  by  my  friend, 
2 


10 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


D.  D.  Howard,  Esq.,  one  of  the  enterprising  and  well 
known  proprietors  of  that  popular  establishment.  On 
Thursday  and  Friday  I called  upon  several  friends  in 
New  York,  and  made  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
my  departure  On  Saturday,  at  1 1 o’clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, I went  on  board  the  Franklin  with  my  baggage, 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  there  some  of  my  Bur- 
lington friends,  who  came  on  board  to  witness  my  de- 
parture. On  leaving  the  Irving  House,  Mr.  H.  with 
bis  accustomed  generosity,  refused  to  receive  any  pay 
fbr  the  elegant  and  profuse  hospitalities  of  his  House, 
which  I had  enjoyed  for  three  days,  and,  moreover,  be* 
sides  furnishing  me,  gratuitously,  while  there,  with  a 
ticket  to  one  of  Jenny  Lind's  concerts,  he  kindly  invit- 
ed me  to  be  his  guest  on  my  return. 

At  12  o’clock,  on  the  31st  of  May,  the  noble  Steam- 
Ship,  Franklin,  was  released  from  her  moorings  at  Pier, 
No.  4,  North  River,  andmoved  outinto  the  stream, and, 
at  2 P.  M.,  the  discharge  of  her  guns  announced  that 
she  was  headed  round  towards  the  sea  and  was  taking 
her  departure.  The  weather  was  fine,  with  a light 
northerly  wind,  and  I was  fully  occupied  in  admiring 
and  enjoying  the  charming  prospects  and  the  beautiful 
scenery,  successively  brought  into  view,  as  we  glided 
rapidly  downward  by  Castle  Garden,  and  the  several 
forts  and  islands,  until  we  had  gotten  outside  of  Sandy 
Hook.  The  river  and  bay  were  well  besprinkled  with 
vessels  moving  in  various  directions,  and  all  around 
was  life  and  activity.  Just  outside  of  the  Hook,  wo 
met  a large  emigrant  ship,  the  deck  of  which  was  liter- 
ally crammed  with  miserable  and  squalid  beings  from 
the  old  world,  and  at  6 P.  M.,  we  had  lost  sight  of  land 


m 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  11 


and  found  our  horizon,  all  around  us,  terminating  in  the 
ocean.  At  about  20  minutes  past  seven,  I saw  the  sun 
set,  for  the  first  time,  beneath  the  dark  waters  in  the 
west.  Retired  to  my  berth  between  9 and  10  in  ths 
evening,  and  slept  tolerable  well  till  morning. 

My  chum  1 find  to  be  a fine  old  French  gentleman 
from  New  Orleans,  by  the  name  of  Blanchard.  He  is 
able  to  converse  some  in  English,  but  not  very  fluently. 
Our  state  room  is  in  the  forward  part  of  the  ship  and  is 
quite  too  small  for  convenience,  especially  as  we  have 
each  of  us  a very  large  trunk.  Every  state  rooip.  and 
berth  in  the  ship  appear  to  be  occupied,  and  1 under- 
stand the  number  of  passengers  on  board  to  be  about  140. 
The  officers,  crew,  cooks,  waiters,  & c.,  must  be  about  100, 
making  the  whole  number  of  souls  on  board,  near  250. 

June  1 Sunday. — Rose  quite  early,  found  the  weath- 
er fair,  the  wind  light  and  the  sea  but  little  agita- 
ted. By  the  sun’s  altitude  at  noon  our  latitude  was 
found  to  be  40Q  33  , our  longitude,  69°  10',  and  our 
distance  from  New  York,  227  miles,  making  the 
mean  rate  of  our  progress  about  11  miles  per  hour. — 
During  Sunday  Aye  passed  seven  sailing  vessels  and 
one  large  steamer.  The  latter  was  at  a great  distance 
from  us,  and  was  supposed  to  be  the  Washington  from 
Bremen.  During  the  day  we  had  a light  wind  from  a 
point  a little  east  of  north,  and  the  atmosphere  was 
hazy;  but  in  the  evening  the  wind  increased,  and,  be- 
fore morning,  blew  quite  a gale,  rendering  the  sea 
rough,  and  causing  the  ship  to  pitch  and  roll  very  con- 
siderably. 

June  2.  Monday. — Morning  dark  and  cloudy,  wind 
strong  from  a point  a little  east  of  north,  sea  very  rough, 


12 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


white  caps  abundant,  and  our  ship  pitching  and  rolling 
very  badly.  A dismal  scene  below.  Sea  sickness  be- 
gan to  make  an  unequivocal  manifestation  of  itself  last 
evening,  and  before  morning,  full  two  thirds  of  the  pas- 
sengers had  received  an  experimental  assurance  of  the 
fact.  Very  few  have  made  their  appearance  in  the  din- 
ing saloon  to  day.  Since  half  past  ten  this  morning, 
the  weather  has  been  foggy,  with  the  sea  running  high 
and  dashing  its  spray  over  the  upper  deck,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  wo-begone  passengers  could  not  remain 
there,  and  they  have,  consequently,  been,  most  of  the 
day,  in  their  berths.  Although  I have  experienced 
very  little  of  the  suffering,  which  Mr.  Greely  represents 
himself  to  have  endured,  I have  witnessed  quite  enough, 
during  the  last  twenty  four  hours,  to  enable  me  to  un- 
derstand very  well  the  scenes  he  so  feelingly  described 
in  the  Tribune,  in  his  account  of  his  first  voyage  across 
the  Atlantic.  But  while  old  Neptune’s  demands  for 
tribute  were  very  generally  imperative  and  irresistible, 
he  showed  himself  very  indulgent  to  me,  exacting  only 
a slight  nausea  and  loss  of  appetite,  but  not  sufficient  to 
prevent  my  regular  appearance  in  the  dinning  saloon 
at  the  hour  of  meals.  I retired  to  my  berth  somewhat 
earlier  than  usual,  and,  notwithstanding  the  rolling  and 
tumbling  of  the  ship,  slept  very  well  till  morning. 

June  3.  Tuesday  — Rose  about  sunrise,  found  the  sea 
less  agitated  than  it  was  last  evening, — wind  fresh  from 
south-southeast.  At  7 A.  M.  the  wind  had  gone  fully 
round  into  the  south.  The  ship’s  course,  by  the  com- 
pass, since  we  left  Sandy-Hook,  lias  been  directly  east, 
but,  on  account  of  the  magnetic  variation,  the  true 
course  has  been  very  considerably  to  the  northward  of 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


13 


east.  Our  latitude,  to  day  at  noon,  was  41°  40',  longi- 
tude 58Q  21',  and  distance  run  since  the  preceeding 
noon,  230  miles.  At  5 P.  M.  we  passed  a school  of 
what  the  sailors  called,  Ship-Jacks.  They  were  skip- 
ping and  playing  along  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
appeared  to  be  about  a foot  and  a half  long  and  very 
thick  and  clumped.  About  sunset  we  had  a smart 
shower,  with  several  claps  of  thunder.  They  were  not 
attended  with  that  rumbling  reverberation,  which  is  ob- 
served on  land,  but  were  sudden  and  short,  like  reports 
of  a cannon.  The  shower  came  from  the  southwest. 

French  is,  I think,  the  native  language  of  more  than 
one  half  of  the-passengers  on  board,  and  numbers  of 
them  can  speak  no  other.  Very  many  of  them  are  from 
New  Orleans  and  the  West  Indies,  and  several  of  them 
are  Jews.  Many  of  the  passengers  continue  to  suffer 
from  sea-sickness,  but  a majority,  I think,  haveappear- 
ed  in  the  dining  saloon  to  day,  at  the  principal  meals. 

June  4.  Wednesday.  The  ship  has  rolled  badly  during 
the  night,  on  account  of  a change  in  the  direction  of  the 
wind  last  evening.  I arose  a little  after  midnight  and 
spent  some  time  on  deck,  observing  the  phosphorescence 
of  the  waves,  as  they  broke  around  the  ship.  I had  ob- 
served the  light  from  the  water  flashing  into  the  win- 
dows of  my  state  room,  before  I left  my  berth.  Stars 
were  visible  at  the  lime,  but  the  sky  was  partially  ob- 
scured by  clouds.  I retired  again  to  my  berth  about 
one  o’clock  and  slept  till  five,  when  I arose,  and  found 
the  sky  completely  overcast,  the  wind  north  and  the 
thermometer,  in  the  air,  at  52°,  The  forenoon,  howev- 
er, proved  to  be  fair,  with  a light  wind,  but  there  was  a 

long  heavy  swell  of  the  sea,  giving  a disagreeable  mo- 
2* 


14 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


tion  to  the  ship,  and  a very  considerable  number  are 
still  suffering  from  sea-sickness.  Have  not  suffered  at 
all  myself,  excepting  as  mentioned  on  Monday. 

At  noon  to  day.  we  were  in  latitude  43s  31 ',  in 
o ngitude  52°  53 , and  had  advanced  since  the  previous 
noon,  265  miles.  We  are  said  to  be  now  upon  the 
Grand  Bank  of  Newfoundland — the  great  Fishing-Bank 
of  the  world,  and  about  1000  miles  from  New  York,  or 
about  one  third,  the  distance  across  the  Atlantic.  We 
have  passed  several  sail  to  day,  bound  westward,  one 
of  which  was  ascertained  to  be  the  London  packet,  Mar- 
garet Evans,  which  was  advertised  to  leave  Portsmouth 
on  the  16th  of  May.  About  three  and  half  P.  M.  we 
passed  the  wreck  of  a schooner,  consisting  of  little  more 
than  the  keel  and  ribs,  from  which  the  planks  were 
nearly  all  stripped. 

Experienced  mariners  usually  tell  when  they  are  up- 
on soundings  by  the  color  of  the  water,  it  being  darker 
and  having  little  of  that  beautiful  light  greenish-blue 
tint,  so  observable  in  the  waves  of  the  deep  sea.  Since 
we  came  upon  the  Grand  Bank,  the  color  of  the  water 
has  resembled,  very  closely,  that  of  the  deeper  parts  of 
our  fresh  water  lakes. 

The  sunset,  to  night,  was  the  most  interesting  I ever 
witnessed,  not  only  on  account  of  the  varied  and  beau- 
tiful colors,  which  lit  up  the  western  sky;  but,  more 
particularly,  on  account  of  the  wonderful  effect  of  at- 
mospheric refraction.  Burlington  is  celebrated  for  its 
beautiful  sunsets,  and  can  boast  of  some,  which  might, 
perhaps,  vie,  in  splendor  and  loveliness  with  the  one 
just  mentioned,  but  never  before  did  I witness  such  a 
distortion  of  the  sun’s  image  by  refraction.  Closedown 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  15 


to  the  horizon  the  refraction  was  such  as  to  convert  the 
sun’s  disc  very  nearly  into  the  form  of  a vertical  sec- 
tion of  an  old  fashioned  loaf  of  bread.  But  as  this 
comparison  may  be  as  indefinite  with  regard  to  form, 
as  was  that  of  the  witness’  piece  of 
chalk,  with  regard  to  size,  I introduce 
the  accompanying  figure  to  explain 
my  meaning^  The  flattening  of  the 
disc  was  such,  that  the  vertical  diam- 
eter did  not  much  exceed  two  thirds  of 
the  horizontal  diameter,  but  the  flattening  was  princi- 
pally upon  the  under  side;  and,  indeed,  it  was  there,  so 
great,  just  before  the  disappearance  of  the  sun,  that  the 
boundary  of  the  disc  below  differed  very  little  from  a 
right  line.  Betwc  en sunset  and  dark,  something,  which 
the  seamen  called  a Flying  Fish,  passed  us.  fluttering 
along  the  side  of  the  ship,  most  of  the  time  out  of  the 
water,  but  it  was  so  nearly  dark  that  I had  not  a dis- 
inct  view  of  it. 

June  5.  Thursday. — Awoke  this  morning  about  4 
o’clock,  but  perceiving  it  to  be  very  foggy,  went  to  sleep 
again  and  slept  till  5,  when  I arose  and  found  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  a field  of  Icebergs.  At  the  time  I came 
upon  deck  there  was  one,  of  considerable  size,  in  plain 
sight  at  the  south  east,  and  only  about  a mile  off ; and 
I was  told  that  we  had,  a short  time  previous  to  my 
coming  on  deck,  passed  very  near  several  others  of 
much  larger  size.  The  thermometer  in  the  air  stood, 
at  the  time,  at  4 7°.  As  we  passed  along  we  approached 
somewhat  nearer  the  iceberg  above  mentioned,  and  I 
had  an  opportunity  of  viewing  it  indifferent  directions. 
U appeared  like  a rounded  mass  of  nearly  snowy  white- 


16 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARI3; 


ness,  exibiting  none  of  the  dark  crystaline  aspect  of 
ordinary  ice,  excepting  along 
portions  of  the  edges.  Its 
form,  as  seen  when  directly 
to  the  southward  ofus,  is  exhibited  in  the  accompanying 
diagram,  in  which  the  dark  shades  denote  the  parts, 
which  had  the  appearance  of  ice.  All  the  other  parts 
resembled  snow.  I saw  no  discoloration,  which  indi- 
cated that  it  transported  either  rocks  or  earth,  which 
they  are  well  known  frequently  to  do.  The  height  of 
this  iceberg,  above  the  water.,  was  estimated  to  be  about 
50  feet,  and  its  horizontal  extent  300  feet;  and  as  this  ex- 
tent appeared  nearly  the  same  from  all  the  positions 
from  which  it  was  seen,  the  horizontal  diameters  of  the 
mass,  at  the  surface  of  the  sea,  must  have  been  nearly 
equal  in  all  directions.  To  form  an  idea  of  the  entire 
magnitude  of  the  iceberg,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  that 
only  one  eighth  of  the  mass  of  floating  ice  appears  above 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  therefore  the  whole  mass 
must  have  been  eight  times  as  large  as  the  part  seen. 
The  western  edge  of  the  iceberg  appeared  to  have  been 
broken  off,  presenting  a perpendicular  face  of  perhaps 
18  feet  in  height.  About  6 A.  M.  we  passed  another 
iceberg,  judged  to  be  5 or  6 miles  to  the  southward  ofus 
and  at  8,  three  others  were  in  sight  some  distance  to  the 
northward.  Some  of  these  must  have  been  very  much 
larger  than  the  one  I have  described.  The  last  we  saw 
was  very  large  and  remote  in  the  north.  It  exhibited 
two  prominences  with  a valley  between  them,  resem- 
bling two  distant  mountain  summits  covered  with  snow. 
We  lost  sight  of  this  about  1 P.  M. 

About  noon  we  passed  a large  school  of  Porpoises,  or 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  IT 


I might,  perhaps,  with  equal  propriety,  say  that  they 
passed  us,  for  they  were  moving  westward  with  a speed 
scarcely  less  than  ours  eastward.  Hovering  over  them 
and  occasionally  pitching  down  among  them,  were  a 
great  number  of  Gulls,  and  I have  observed  that  wher- 
ever porpoises  have  shown  themselves  in  numbers,  gulls 
have  appeared  also.  Captain  Wotton  tells  me  that  he 
thinks  the  porpoises,  when  sporting  and  leeping  out  of 
the  water,  as  we  see  them,  are  pursuing  and  feeding  up- 
on schools  of  small  fishes,  and  that  the  gulls  are  invited 
by  the  same,  and  that  they  pounce  upon  and  seize  the 
fishes  as  they  rise  to  the  surface  in  their  endeavors  to 
escape  the  porpoises.  Gulls  have  been  quite  numerous, 
when  there  were  no  porpoises  in  sight,  and  I have  hard- 
ly been  on  deck  for  half  an  hour  in  the  day  time  with- 
out seeing  more  or  less  of  Mother  Carey’s  Chickens  a- 
round  us* 

At  noon  to  day  we  were  in  latitude  45°  26;,  in  longi- 
tude 47°  8'  and  1252  miles  from  New  York.  We  have 
passed,  to  day,  several  sail,  some  of  which  were  hound 
westward,  and  others  apparently  engaged  in  fishing. 
The  temperature  of  the  water,  passed  over  during  the 
24  hours  preceding  noon  to  day,  being  examined  every 
four  hours,  was  found  to  he  46c,  while  that  of  the  at- 
mosphere was  56°.  The  weather  is  cloudy,  chilly  and 

* Mother  Carey’s  Chickens  is  a name  given  to  sea-birds  resembling 
our  Cliff  Swallows,  but  they  arc  somewhat  larger  and  are  properly  call- 
ed Petrels.  The  Petrels  have  been  regarded  by  the  ignorant  and  super- 
stitious as  harbingers  of  storms  and  shipwrecks,  and  have,  therefore, 
been  very  unjustly  stigmatized  by  such  names  as  Stormy  Petrel,  Devil’s 
Bird  and  Mother  Carey’s  Chickens.  I noticed  two  species,  which  1 took 
to  be  the  Thulussidruna.  Wilsonii  and  T.  Leachii.  The  former  was 
most  common. 


18 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


gloomy,  and  I am  told  it  is  almost  always  so  on  the 
Banks;  and  for  a great  portion  of  the  year  they  are  cov- 
ered with  dense  fogs.  I have  long  taken  a deep  interest 
in  Fishes , and  yet  I can  hardly  imagine  an  employment, 
which  would  be  more  disagreeable  to  me  than  fishing 
on  the  Grand  Bank.  I can  see  no  pleasure  in  the  bus- 
iness, except  it  be  that  of  good  bites  and  ;£ glorious  nib- 
bles/1 while  the  fishermen  are  all  the  time  exposed  to 
chills  and  fogs  and  dangerous  storms:  and  yet  every 
year  hundreds  of  fishing  vessels  spend  the  whole  sum- 
mer upon  the  banks.  Wrote  a few  lines  this  evening 
to  my  friend,  D.  W.  C.  Clarke,  Esq.,  Editor  of  the  Bur- 
lington Free  Press.* 

June  6.  Friday. — Rose  this  morning  and  went  on 
deck  about  4 o’clock. — found  the  weather  cloudy  with 
a light  wind  from  the  east.  At  a little  distance  from  the 
ship,  I observed  that  the  gulls  were  numerous  and  ac- 
tive, and,  on  looking  more  closely,  I perceived  the  sur- 
face of  the  ocean  to  be  apparently  alive  with  porpoises, 
leaping  and  gamboling  in  the  most  playful  manner. 
They  would  frequently  leap  their  entire  length  out  of 
the  water,  showing  the  whole  animal  at  the  same  time. 
A little  after  5,  I again  retired  to  my  berth  and  slept  till 
7,  when  I arose  and  found  that  a smart  rain  had,  in  the 
mean  time,  set  in.  The  rain  continued  till  11,  when  the 
wind  changed  to  the  west  and  the  rain  ceased.  At  noon 
the  clouds  ware  so  much  broken  and  dissipated  as  to  en- 
able Captain  Wo. ton  to  get  a tolerably  good  observation 
©f  the  sun,  for  i.neand  latitude.  The  latitude  was  found 
to  be  47Q  57',  longitude  41°  50’,  and  the  distance  sailed 
since  the  preceding  noon,  262  miles.  The  thermometer 

* The  letter  was  published  in  the  Free  Press,  July  9. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  19 


stood,  in  the  air,  at  5 4Q,  and  in  the  water,  at  60°.  Dur- 
ing the  afternoon  the  wind  continued  west,  but  had  in- 
creased before  night  to  quite  a gale,  so  that  the  ship  toss- 
ed and  pitched  very  badly.  I retired  at  half  past  9,  but 
slept  very  little.  About  midnight  I arose  and  spent 
some  time  on  deck.  I found  the  sky  mostly  clear,  and, 
although  the  wind  had  somewhat  abated,  the  sc  a -was 
rougher  than  it  had  been  at  any  time  since  we  left  New 
York. 

June  7.  Saturday . — Rose  just  as  the  sun  was  emerg- 
ing from  the  ocean,  but  as  it  was  quite  hazy  in  the  north- 
east, there  was  nothing  very  remarkable  in  the  appear- 
ance. The  surface  of  the  ocean  was  not  so  much  chop- 
ped and  broken  as  it  was  yesterday,  but  the  sea  was 
nmning  in  very  large,  heavy  swells,  which  caused  the 
ship  to  pitch  and  roll  nearly  as  much  as  at  any  time  be- 
fore. About  6 A.  M.  we  passed  a sail,  being  the  first 
seen  since  Thursday.  It  was  at  some  distance  to  the 
northward  of  us,  and  was  standing  towards  the  south- 
west. Shortly  afterwards  I had  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing, for  the  first  time,  a live  Whale.  It  was  judged  to 
be  about  two  miles  off.  I saw  it  spout  a dozen  times  or 
more,  and  frequently  saw  parts  of  its  head  above  the 
water.  It  belonged  to  a small  species,  which  the  sailors 
call  the  Finback  Whale.  It  was  probably  the  whale 
called  Grampus,  ( Delphinus  grampus.)  When  it  spouted 
the  spray  appeared  to  rise  12  or  15  feet.  It  is  said  to 
be  a very  shy  whale,  and  that  ships  can  seldom  approach 
near  it.  About  2 P.  M.  we  passed  another  sail,  7 
or  8 miles  to  the  northward  of  us.  The  sky  has  been 
overcast  with  clouds  most  of  the  day,  with  the  wind 
nearly  ahead  and  the  sea  running  in  long,  heavy  swells. 


20 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


June  8.  Sunday. — Two  sail  in  sight,  6 or  8 miles  to 
the  southward  of  us,  when  I went  on  deck;  morning 
cloudy,  the  wind  still  east,  and  the  sea  running  in  con- 
siderable swells. 

When  I left  New  York  I was  not  acquainted  with  a 
person  on  board,  nor  did  I know  the  name  of  any  one 
excepting  Captain  Wotton;  but  I have  been  gradually 
ascertaining  their  names  and  forming  some  acquain- 
tances. Among  these  is  a Mr.  Hodgson,  from  Savannah, 
Georgia,  with  his  family,  consisting  of  a wife,  maiden 
lady  and  a servant.  They  informed  me  that  the  Rev. 
Willard  Preston,  who  was  for  a short  time,  President 
of  the  University  of  Vermont,  has  been  their  parish  min- 
ister, in  Savannah,  for  the  last  17  years.  There  is  also 
on  board  a Rev.  Dr.  Means,  from  Georgia.  He  is  Pro- 
fessor of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History,  in  a College 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Methodists.  He  intends 
travelling  through  England  and  Scotland,  and  on  the 
continent  for  the  purpose,  principally,  of  increasing  his 
geological  information. 

It  is  now  half  past  ten  o’clock  in  the  evening,  and  day- 
light is  still  very  perceptible.  Our  latitude  is  about  51Q 
our  longitude  2 7Q,  and  our  distance  from  New  York  a 
little  over  2100  miles.  The  sea  has  become  very  much 
calmed  down  since  morning. 

June  9.  Monday. — Left  my  berth  at  half  past  three 
this  morning,  and  went  on  deck — cloudy  but  calm.  The 
sun  rises  here  at  this  season  at  about  3h.  45m.,  making 
the  days  sixteen  and  a half  hours  long,  and  giving  a 
strong  twilight  during  most  of  the  short  night.  Passed 
a brig  at  half  past  four,  two  miles  to  the  southward  of  us. 
During  the  forenoon  the  clouds  cleared  away  and  the 


LONDON  AND  THE  GItEAT  EXHIBITION.  21 


weather  became  fine.  Noon  observations  showed  our 
latitude  to  be  51^  13',  longitude  21°  27',  and  distance 
sailed  since  preceding  noon  283  miles. 

Made  acquaintance  to-day  with  Mr.  Putnam,  Be  • k 
Publisher,  formerly  of  the  firm  of  Wiley  & Putnam,  New 
Y ork.  He  had  with  him  specimens  of  several  new  books 
which  he  was  taking  out  to  England.  Among  these  were 
the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  at  their  meeting  in  New  Haven 
in  August,  18-50,  and  the  recent  work  of  Dr.  Hitchcock, 
President  of  Amherst  College,  entitled,  Geology  of  Reli- 
gion. The  sky  became  overcast  with  clouds  soon  after 
noon,  with  a gentle  breeze  from  the  west,  which  has 
gradually  increased  to  a strong  wind,  producing  no  slight 
commotion  in  the  sea  and  driving  us  onward,  towards 
the  old  world,  with  great  rapidity.  At  8 o’clock  this 
evening,  the  log  indicated  an  advance  of  104  miles  since 
noon. 

June  10.  Tuesday. — Retired  last  night  at  10,  and 

notwithstanding  the  tossing  of  the  ship,  slept  very  well 
till  3 this  morning,  when  1 arose,  went  on  deck,  found 
the  ship  running  rapidly  before  the  wind  and  the  weath- 
er fair,  but  was  prevented  from  seeing  the  sun  rise  by  a 
haziness  in  the  north-east.  At  4 A.  M.  the  ship’s  log 
indicated  an  advance  of  108  miles  in  the  preceding  eight 
hours.  Passed  two  sail  this  morning  between  3 and  5 
o’clock.  By  the  sun’s  altitude  at  noon,  our  latitude  was 
found  to  be  50°  19',  longitude  13°  55',  and  the  distance 
run  since  the  preceding  noon,  300  miles. 

From  what  is  said  above,  the  ship’s  progress  would, 
at  first,  appear  to  have  been  less  rapid  from  4 A.  M.  to 

:oon,  than  it  had  been,  during  the  sixteen  hours  ;*revi- 
3 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARI?, 


ous,  but  tills  arises  from  the  mode  of  reckoning  at  sea, 
the  time  between  4 A.  M.  and  noon,  in  which  88  of  the 
330  miles  were  rim,  being  only  seven  and  a half  hours. 
The  time  at  sea  is  noted  by  a time-piece,  which  keeps 
mean  time,  and  the  hands  of  which  are  set  every  day,  at 
noon,  so  as  to  indicate  12  o’clock.  If  the  ship  had  no 
motion,  noon  by  the  sun,  each  day,  would  coincide  with 
12  o’clock  by  the  time-piece,  and  it  would  therefore  re- 
quire no  alteration.  , But,  if  the  ship  be  moving  eastward, 
it  will  be  noon  by  the  sun  before  it  is  12  by  the  time-piece, 
to  the  amount  of  4 minutes  for  each  degree  of  longitude 
passed  over.  In  going  from  the  United  States  to  Eng- 
land, our  steamships  pass  over,  on  an  average,  about 
7*c,  equal  to  thirty  minutes  in  time,  each  day.  Hence 
it  is  necessary,  in  order  that  the  time-piece  should  agree 
with  the  noon  by  the  sun  where  the  ship  is,  that  it  should 
be  set  forward,  each  day,  about  30  minutes.  The  reverse 
of  this  takes  place  in  the  return  voyage  from  England  to 
the  United  States. 

The  chronometer  seems,  now,  to  be  very  generally 
relied  upon  for  longitude,  in  voyages  across  the  Atlantic, 
and  the  laborious  process  of  lunar  distances  is  seldom 
resorted  to.  The  chronometer  constantly  indicates  the 
true  time  at  Greenwich,  and  by  the  sun’s  altitude  the 
ship’s  latitude  and  time  are  easily  found ; and  the  ship’s 
time  subtracted  from  the  chronometer  time,  and  the  dif- 
ference converted  into  degrees  and  minutes,  is  the  longi- 
tude of  the  ship,  from  Greenwich,  at  the  time. 

The  wind  has  gradually  veered  round,  through  the 
north,  to  the  east,  and  by  4 o’clock  this  afternoon,  was 
blowing  a fresh  breeze  directly  opposite  to  our  course. 
It  has  been,  during  the  day,  quite  chilly,  so  much  so  as 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


23 


to  render  it  uncomfortable  remaining  on  deck  without  an 
over-coat.  The  expectation  is  now  prevalent  on  board 
that,  if  no  accident  befall  us,  we  shall  see  land  before 
to-morrow  night. 

June  11.  Wednesday. — Rose  this  morning  about  3 
o’clock  and  went  on  deck  just  in  season  to  enjoy  the 
most  splendid  sun-rise  I ever  witnessed.  For  the  first 
time,  since  we  left  New  York,  the  sky  was  clear  at  that 
point  of  the  horizon,  where  the  smi  appeared  to  emerge 
from  the  ocean.  At  a little  height  above  the  horizon, 
narrow  belts  and  small  flocks  of  clouds,  were  stretcl  el 
and  scattered  along  the  northeastern  sky,  which,  as  the 
sun  arose,  became  lighted  up  and  tinged  in  the  most 
gorgeous  manner.  The  various  shades,  from  the  most 
dazzling  brightness  to  hues  of  “ grave  and  sober  aspect,” 
were  so  arranged  and  blended,  that  imagination  could 
hardly  conceive  any  thing  equally  splendid  and  beauti- 
ful. In  this  case  there  was  none  of  that  distortion  of  the 
sun’s  image  by  atmospheric  refraction,  which  I have  de- 
scribed, as  seen  at  the  sun’s  setting  on  the  Grand  Bank. 
Indeed,  the  eye  could  scarcely  detect  any  deviation,  in 
the  form  of  his  disc,  from  a perfect  circle. 

While  exulting  in  the  brightness  of  the  sunny  morning, 
and  in  the  anticipation  of  a charming  day,  I was  sorry 
to  observe  that  the  experienced  seamen  on  board  were 
indulging  anticipations  of  a very  different  nature.  Yea, 
some  of  them  averred,  at  the  time,  that  such  a sunrise 
was  a certain  indication  of  an  approaching  storm,  and 
that  we  might  depend  upon  experiencing  one  within 
twenty-four  hours.  I had  no  faith  in  the  prediction  when 
it  was  uttered,  but  long  before  noon  the  sky  was  com- 
pletely overcast  with  clouds,  and  the  fogs  and  mists  were 


24 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


seen  to  be  gathering  around  us  and  contracting  the  field 
of  our  vision,  and  about  noon  the  storm  commenced  with 
a strong  wind  from  the  south.  I observed  that.Capt. 
Wotton  was  constantly  on  deck  striving  to  penetrate,  by 
his  vision,  the  dense  fog  which  surrounded  us,  and,  about 
1 o’clock,  the  intelligence  was  announced  that  we  were 
in  sight  of  land.  W e were  close  in  upon  the  Scilly  Islands 
and  headed  directly  towards  them,  and  fortunate  it  was 
that  we  reached  here  by  day-light.  Had  we  arrived 
here  in  the  night,  in  such  a fog,  we  should  have  been  in 
imminent  danger  of  running  upon  these  rocky  islets  be- 
fore they  were  discovered.  The  ship's  course  was  im- 
mediately changed  to  the  south,  and  we  coasted  along 
for  a considerable  distance  close  in  upon  the  islands. 
These  islands  appear,  through  the  fog  and  rain,  to  con- 
sist almost  entirely  of  rocks  with  very  little  vegetation, 
and,  all  around,  sharp-pointed  rocks  are  seen  projecting 
above  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  They  exhibit,  in  their 
sharp  pinnacles,  abrupt  precipices  and  deep  chasms,  an 
outline  unlike  any  thing  we  have  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  United  States,  and  one,  if  I rightly  judge,  which  in- 
dicates the  rocks  to  be  of  igneous  origin,*  although  I am 
totally  ignorant  of  their  geological  character. 

The  storm  was  raging  with  considerable  violence  be- 
fore we  had  passed  the  Scilly  Islands  and  Lizard's  Point; 
and  as  we  passed  along,  the  wind  was  driving  directly 
towards  those  rocky  shores,  and  we  were  so  near  them 
that  we  could  plainly  see,  through  the  fog  and  mist,  the 
waves  as  they  lashed  themselves  into  foam  upon  the 

*The  correctness  of  this  conjecture,  in  relation  to  the  geological  charac- 
ter of  the  Scilly  Islands,  was  afterwards  verified  by  the  examination  of  a 
geological  map  of  England. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  25 


rocks  and  threw  volumes  of  spray  into  the  air.  As  night 
was  closing  in  upon  us  under  these  circumstances,  I 
became  well  assured  that  we  were  about  encountering 
the  most  perilous  part  of  our  voyage,  and,  especially, 
when  I saw  the  sailors  busily  and  silently  employed  in 
removing  the  covering  from  the  life-boats  and  putting 
them  in  readiness  for  service.  I was  up  till  midnight, 
when,  having  finished  some  short  letters  which  I wished 
to  have  mailed  at  Southampton,  I went  on  deck,  and 
was  told  by  Capt.  Wotton  that  we  were  just  then  pass- 
ing the  Edystone  Light-house,*  whose  light  was  dimly 
seen  through  the  fog  and  storm,  which  had  experienced 
no  abatement. 

June  12.  Thursday. — At  half  past  12  at  night,  I 

turned  into  my  berth  and  slept  about  three  hours,  when 
I arose  and  found  the  storm  still  raging.  At  6 A.  M.  the 
Franklin’s  engine  was  stopped,  for  the  first  time,  since 
we  left  New  York,  and  a pilot  was  taken  on  board  to 
conduct  the  ship  into  the  harbor  of  Cowes.  About  7 we 

* This  celebrated  monument  of  the  mechanical  genius  of  Smeaton  is 
built  upon  a reef  of  rooks  situated  outside  of  Plymouth  Sound  and  14 
miles  from  Plymouth.  The  reef  is  700  feet  long  and  is  entirely  covered 
at  high  tide,  and  shipwrecks  upon  it  were  very  common  in  former  times. 
A light-nouse  was  built  here  in  1690,  which  was  swept  away  in  1703 
Inl708  another  was  built,  which  was  burned  in  1755.  The  present 
t Eddystone  Light-house  was  finished  by  Mr.  Smeaton  in  1759.  It  is  100 
feet  high,  the  lantern  being  72  feet  above  high  water.  The  stones  of  its 
base  are  dove-tailed  into  the  rock  on  which  it  stands,  and  each  tipr  of 
stones  is  dove-tailed  into  the  tier  below,  so  that  the  whole  shaft  is  like 
one  stone  joined  to  the  rock , and  its  form  is  like  that  of  the  boll  ,or  trunk, 
of  a tree,  from  the  root  to  the  limbs.  The  vertical  curve  produced  by  the 
contraction  of  the  broad  base  into  the  narrow  shaft,  causes  the  momentum 
of  the  waves  to  be  expended  in  rising  up^the  side  of  the  shaft,  instead  of 
beating,  with  their  full  force,  against  it. 

3* 


26  JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 

passed  the  celebrated  natural  curiosity  called  the  Needles, 
and  entered  the  channel  separating  the  Isle  of  Wight 
from  the  main  land.  These  Needles  consist  of  several 
sharp  pointed  rocks,  which  rise  some  20  or  30  feet  out 
of  the  water,  at  a little  distance  from  the  shore,  and  have 
very  much  the  form  of  shark’s  teeth.  The  northwestern 
extremity  of  the  Isle  of  Wight  is  formed  by  a lofty  per- 
pendicular chalk  cliff,  and  the  channel  between  this  cliff 
and  the  main  land  is  quite  narrow.  In  this  channel,  at 
the  distance  of,  perhaps,  20  rods  from  the  foot  of  the 
cliff,  these  Needles  are  situated.  There  are  three  of 
them,  whose  bases  appeared  to  be  united  at  the  surface 
of  the  water,  and  were  evidently  formed  by  the  wearing 
away  of  the  softer  parts  of  the  rock,  which  was,  formerly, 
a prolongation  of  the  point  now  constituting  the  chalk 
chtf.  On  account  of  the  narrowness  of  the  channel  and 
the  many  concealed  rocks,  the  passage  of  the  Needles  is 
considered  somewhat  difficult  and  dangerous  at  certain 
stages  of  the  tide,  and  hence  the  necessity  of  a pilot,  who 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  channel. 


The  above  cut  is  from  a sketch,  which  I attempted, 
while  passing  the  Needles,  and  may  give  some  idea  of 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  27 


their  appearance.  My  nearness  to  the  objects  and  the 
rapid  change  in  the  view,  rendered  it  impossible  to  do 
justice  to  the  scene.  The  color  of  the  Needles  was  that 
of  a gray,  weather-beaten  limestone.  That  of  the  per- 
pendicular chalk  cliff  behind  them  was,  very  nearly,  a 
pure  white.  The  lower  parts  of  the  cliff  at  the  left, 
had  a ferruginous  hue,  as  if  stained  with  iron  rust. 
The  top  of  the  cliff  was  covered  with  a thin  soil,  pro- 
ducing stinted  grass. 

It  was  about  9 A.  M.  when  we  arrived  in  the  harbor 
of  Cowes,  and  about  two  hours  were  spent  in  transfer- 
ring passengers  for  England  to  a little  steamer,  which 
was  to  convey  them  to  Southampton,  which  is  on  the 
head  of  an  inlet  into  the  main  land  opposite  to  Cowes 
and  distant  about  15  miles.  These  amounted  to  about 
one  half  of  the  whole  number  of  the  Franklin’s  passen- 
gers. 

Cowes  is  a small  place,  but  is  beautifully  situated  on 
a small  bay,  or  indentation,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  The 
ground  rises  gradually  from  the  ocean  for  a short  dis- 
tance, and  then  quite  abruptly.  The  place  abounds  in 
shade  trees,  among  which  the  houses,  some  of  which  are 
elegajit,  are  seen  straggling  up  the  acclivity,  and  the 
whole,  as  seen  from  the  water,  would  furnish  materials 
for  a very  beautiful  picture.  To  the  eastward  of  Cowes, 
on  the  main  land,  lie  Gosport  and  Portsmouth,  the 
great  naval  station  of  Great  Britain 

At  11  o’clock  the  Franklin,  having  taken  on  board  a 
pilot  to  conduct  the  ship  into  port,  was  again  under  way 
and  proceeding  towards  Havre.  The  storm,  at  this 
time,  had  considerably  abated,  and  before  one  o’clock, 
had  entirely  ceased.  During  the  afternoon  the  clouds 


28 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


gradually  cleared  away  and  the  weather  became  fine 
and  agreeable.  Just  after  leaving  Cowes  we  had  a good 
view  of  Queen  Victoria’s  country  Palace  on  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  called  the  Osborne  House,  and  at  4 P.  M.  we 
had  the  satisfaction  of  beholding,  in  the  distance,  the 
coast  of  France. 

During  our  voyage,  I had  endeavored  to  take  notes  of 
our  progress,  and  of  our  position,  from  day  to  day,  but 
having  failed  of  noting  some  particulars,  which  I desir- 
ed, I asked  Capt.  Wotton  if  he  would  allow  them  to  be 
'copied  from  his  Log  Book.  He  readily  assented,  and, 
to  day,  has  furnished  me  with  the  following  interesting 
Abstract  of  his  Log-Book,  from  the  time  of  our  leaving 
New  York  till  our  arrival  at  Cowes. 

ABSTRACT  LOG. 


New  York  to  Coioes — Steam  Ship,  Franklin. 

JAS.  A.  WOTTON,  COMMANDER. 


; Date 
| Neon. 

Latitude! 
Worth.  | 

L.'Dg. 
1 West. 

Dist. 

;Run. 

Thermo.  Barcm.  Rotations) 
Air.  Water  Inches.  Engine. 

Coal. 

Tens. 

■May  31 

40° 

42’i74" 

, 2 

! o 

llune  1 . 

40 

33 

69 

10 

227  | 

65 

56 

30, GO 

16,840 

71. 

! “ 2 

40 

57 

63 

30 

260  | 

| 56 

50 

29,10 

18,743 

70. 

“ 3 

41 

40  58 

21 

230 

! 70 

70 

29,30 

18,957 

69. 

“ 4 

43 

31 

52 

53 

265 

! 53 

51 

29,60  j 

18,762 

68. 

“ 5 

45 

26.47 

8 

270 

i 56 

46 

29,50  | 

20,445 

67. 

! “ G 

47 

57 

41 

50 

'262 

50 

54 

29,40 

, 19,830 

69. 

“ 7 

49 

44 

35 

36 

273 

! CO' 

! 70 

29,50 

! 20,623 

71. 

“ 8 50 

41 

28 

55 

263 

70 

60 

29,60 

i 22,777 

69. 

“ 9 

51 

13  21 

29 

283 

70 

| 60 

29,60 

21,460 

71. 

“ 10  50 

19  13 

55 

, 300 

60 

' 56 

j 29,50 

21,387 

69. 

“ 11 

50 

5 

6 

55 

278 

j 60 

1 56 

29,40 

21,387 

: 69. 

“ 12  50 

48 

1 

20 

220 

54 

I-  53 

j 29,60 

18,117 

58. 

1 ,3131! 

1 

1 

239,328 

821 

We  left  New  York  at  2 P.  M , May  31st,  and  reach- 
ed Cowes,  June  12th,  at  9 A.  M.,  making  11  days  19 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  29 


hours,  from  which,  deducting  5 hours,  for  difference  of 
longitude,  leaves  11  days  14  hours  for  the  length  of  the 
passage. 

In  the  above  table,  the  amount  of  coal  consumed  has 
appeared  more  surprising  to  me  than  any  thing  else. 
Little  did  I think  that  a Steam-Ship  required  the  daily 
consumption  of  70  tons  of  coal,  and  more  than  800  tons 
in  a passage  across  the  Atlantic.  The  Franklin  drew 
near  three  feet  less  water,  on  her  arrival  at  Cowes,  than 
on  leaving  New  York,  in  consequence  of  the  lightning 
of  the  ship  by  the  consumption  of  her  stock  of  coal. 
The  Franklin’s  tonage  is  about  2500  tons,  and  hence 
one  third  of  her  full  freight  must,  necessarily,  be  fuel. 

As  we  approached  Havre,  we  had  a fine  view  of  the 
chalk  cliffs,  which  form  the  coast  of  France,  and  stretch 
off  from  the  mouth  of  the  Seine  towards  the  straits 
of  Dover.  The  shore  all  along  appeared  to  be  quite 
precipitous,  with  an  undulating  country  lying  beyond, 
but,  presenting  to  the  eye  no  elevations  of  much  height. 
We  arrived  in  the  mouth  of  the  Seine  about  7 o clock, 
but  was  half  past  8 before  the  ship  was  warped  into 
her  dock  at  Havre — so  late  that  I,  and  many  others 
have  concluded  to  remain  on  board  till  morning.  The 
vertical  rise  of  the  tide  at  Havre  is  22  feet,  and  it  is  on- 
ly at  particular  stages  of  the  tide,  that  ships  can  conven- 
iently enter  the  harbor. 

June  13.  Friday. — This  morning,  for  the  first  time, 
pressed,  with  my  feet,  the  soilof continental  Europe.  At 
8 o’clock  our  baggage  was  taken  on  shore  and  convey- 
ed to  the  Custom  House  for  inspection,  and  our  pass- 
ports were  sent  to  the  Passport  office,  while  I sought  a 
breakfast  at  one  of  the  Hotels.  After  breakfast  1 went 


30 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIPT  TO  PARIS, 


to  the  Custom  House,  and  pointed  out  my  baggage,  con- 
sisting of  a large  trunk  and  box  of  specimens  of  fishes 
and  reptiles  for  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  of  Paris; 
when,  at  it  they  went,  with  hammer  and  chisel,  and 
had  the  cover  off  before  I could  make  them  listen  to 
any  explanation.  Their  havoc  was  at  length  stopped, 
and,  being  satisfied  of  the  nature  and  object  of  the  con- 
tents, they  nailed  on  the  cover  again.  By  the  payment 
of  a fee  of  three  francs  I got  possession  of  my  baggage 
again,  and  then  went  in  pursuit  of  my  passport.  After 
waiting  at  the  Passport  Office  some  time  for  my  turn,  I 
was  furnished  with  a passport  in  French,  and  was  told 
that  I should  find  my  American  passport  at  the  office  of 
the  Prefect  of  Police  in  Paris;  and  this  is  done.  I under- 
stand, merely  to  furnish  the  officials  an  excuse  for  ex- 
acting a fee  of  two  francs.  I spent  no  time  in  looking 
about  Havre,  but  hastened  with  my  baggage  to  the 
Rail-Way  Station,  and  secured  a passage  in  the  11 
o’clock  train  to  Paris.  The  expenses  incurred  in  the  3 
hours  in  Havre,  from  8 till  11,  gave  me  a somewhat 
bitter  foretaste  of  the  cost  of  travelling  in  France. 
They  were,  3 francs  at  the  Custom  House,  2 francs  for 
passport,  2 francs  for  breakfast,  3 francs  for  guide,  3 
for  transportation  and  cab  hire,  and  26  2 for  fare  of  self, 
and  5 for  baggage,  to  Paris,  making  in  all  43^  francs, 
equal  to  $8,70.  I took  passage  in  a First  Class  car. 
The  second  Class  cars  are  respectable  and  equally 
comfortable,  and,  should  save  some  4 or  5 francs,  if  I 
could  take  passage  in  one  of  them,  but  there  were  none 
going  up  in  the  train,  and  I am  told  that  they  are  quite 
careful  not  to  run  any  2d  Class  Cars  immediately  after 
the  arrival  of  our  Steamers,  thus  compelling  all  the  pas- 


> LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  31 


sengers,  who  proceed  oil  to  Paris,  to  pay  first  class  fare. 

The  train  left  Havre  at  11  A.  M.,  and  reached  Paris 
at  5 P.  M.  The  distance  is  141  miles,  and  it  was  pas- 
sed over  in  just  six  hours,  including  the  stops  at  the 
way  stations.  The  aspect  of  every  thing  hpre  is  quite 
unlike  any  thing  seen  in  the  United  States.  The  chalk 
cliffs  at  the  mouth  of  the  Seine  and  frequently  peeping 
out  along  its  course — the  brown  and  dingy  aspect  of  the 
ancient  cities  of  Havre  and  Rouen,  the  former  with  its 
vast  military  defences  and  the  latter  with  its  august 
cathedral — the  farms,  in  the  shape  of  long  and  narrow 
parallelograms,  stretching  up  the  gentle  slope  of  the 
sides  of  the  valley  and  checked  by  the  growing  crops, 
into  squares,  resembling  the  patch-work  of  a quilt 
— the  old  and  decaying  mansions  surrounded  by  con- 
temptible thatched  cottages — these  are  objects,  of  which 
fresh  and  vigorous  New  England  furnishes  no  counter- 
parts. 

The  Rail-Way  from  Havre  to  Paris  has  nearly  a level 
grade,  and  is,  consequently,  carried  through  some  ten 
or  a dozen  tunnels,  two  of  which,  I should  judge,  from 
the  time  required  to  pass  through  them,  to  be  each  about 
a mile  in  length.  Lamps  were  kept  burning  in  the  tops 
of  the  cars,  nearly  all  the  way  from  Havre  to  Paris,  for 
the  purpose  of  dispelling  the  darkness  and  gloom  in  pass- 
ing through  the  tunnels.  The  rocks  in  sight  along  the 
way  appear  to  be  all  of  the  chalk  formation,  and  the 
tunnels,  for  the  most  part,  pass  through  beds  of  pulver- 
ulent chalk,  filled  with  flint  or  hornstone  nodules,  and 
are  lined  with  brick  masonry.  The  soil,  generally,  ap- 
pears to  rest  upon  vast  beds  of  pulverized  chalk. 

On  my  arrival  in  Paris,  I took  lodgings  at  the  Hotel  des 


32 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


Etrangers.  Rue  Tronchet , 24.  This  hotel  is  in  a cen- 
tral part  of  the  city,  and  but  a few  steps  from  the  great 
Madeleine  Church.  It  is  kept  by  an  Englishman  by  the 
the  name  of  Sanders,  and  is  made  the  stopping  place  of 
many  English  and  American  travellers,  while  sojourning 
in  Paris.  These  circumstances  guided  my  selection, 
and  when  I reached  the  hotel,  I found  that,  at  this  time 
there  are  several  Americans  here. 

June  14.  Saturday. — This  morning,  about  10  o’clock, 
I succeeded  in  finding  my  way  to  the  residence  of  my 
kind  friend,  Mr.  Yattemare,  in  Rue  de  Clichy , 56,  and 
had  the  good  fortune  to  find  him  at  home.  Indeed,  he 
was  almost  literally  buried  among  his  books,  being  en- 
gaged in  packing  a large  box,  to  be  forwarded  to  the 
United  States  hy  the  Franklin,  on  the  first  of  July.  Mr. 
Yattemare  welcomed  me  with  great  cordiality,  and,  af- 
ter showing  me  through  his  book  rooms,  he  introduced 
me  to  his  family.  He  then  showed  me  his  very  exten- 
sive collection  of  coins  and  medals.  The  collection  of 
American  coins  is  more  complete  than  any  I have  be- 
fore seen,  and  among  these  were  three  or  four  copper 
coins,  issued  in  Vermont  previous  to  her  admission  into 
the  Union.  Among  the  medals  were  very  many,  which 
had  been  struck  in  different  countries,  in  honor  of  Mr. 
Yattamare  himself  and  his  noble  system  of  Internation- 
al Exchanges. 

About  noon  we  took  our  seats  in  an  omnibus  and 
proceeded  to  the  Jar  din  des-Plantes , or  Garden  of  Plants, 
which  is  situated  in  the  extremity  of  the  city  nearly 
opposite  to  that  in  which  Mr.  Vatteman/;  resides.  We 
first  visited  the  library,  where  I was  introduced  to  M. 
Desnoyes,  Librarian  of  the  Museum  of  Natural  History, 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


and,  after  spending  a short  time  there,  proceeded  to  the 
rooms  of  the  Mineralogical  and  Geological  collections. 
At  the  latter  place  I was  introduced  to  the  Professor  of 
Geology,  M.  de  Orbigny,  who  made  me  a present  of  his 
elaborate  Geological  Map  of  the  Paris  basin.  I found 
him  to  be  a very  pleasant  and  agreeable  man,  and.  ex- 
tremely modest  and  unassuming  in  his  manners.  In 
the  mineralogical  department,  I noticed  some  exceeding- 
ly large  and  beautiful  specimens  of  meteoric-  iron. 

Mr.  Yattemare  having  an  engagement,  we  returned 
between  4 and  5 P.' M , and,  after  getting  my  dinner,  I 
went  alone  to  see  the  triumphal  arch  at  the  head  of  the 
Avenue  de  Neuilly , called  Arc  de  Triomphe  de  V Etoile. 
This  is  the  most  magnificent  and  imposing  triumphal 
arch  in  Paris,  and,  probably,  is  not  exceeded  by  any  in 
the  world.  It  was  begun  by  Napoleon  in  1806,  but 
was  not  finished  till  1836.  It  was  erected  as  a monu- 
ment of  the  achievements  and  glory  of  the  French  na- 
tion. It  is  built  of  marble,  is  152  feet  high,  137  wide 
and  63  thick,  consisting  of  two  arches  crossing  at  the 
center.  On  the  exterior,  and  within  the  arches,  are  rep- 
resentations of  warriors,  and  horsemen,  and  arms,  and 
battles,  beautifully  carved  in  bold  relief.  From  the  top 
of  this  arch  is  obtained  the  most  complete  view  of  the 
whole  city  of  Paris,  and  a large  extent  of  surrounding 
country.  Its  cost  was  $1,500,000.  I could  not  look 
upon  this  noble  and  imposing  structure,  without  admi- 
ration, but  he  pleasure  of  beholding  it,  was  greatly  mar- 
red by  the  reflection  that,  it  was  designed  to  .commemo- 
rate and  honor  the  success  of  armies  in  bringing  misery 
and  destruction,  instead  of  prosperity  and  happiness  to 
the  family  of  man.  I returned  to  my  lodgings  by  way  of 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARK, 


r 4 

Champs  Elysees  and  Place  de  la  Concorde,  which  were 
thronged  with  people  of  all  ages  and  sexes,  who  appear- 
ed to  have  no  other  object,  than  to  amuse  themselves  and 
pass  away  time.  • 

June  15.  Sunday. — My  first  Sunday  in  Europe  has 
come  and  gone,  and  the  shades  of  its  evening  are  now 
gathered  around  me,  but  how'  unlike  it  has  been  to  a 
Sunday  in  New  England  ! None  of  that  solemn  stillness 
— that  sacred  reverence  of  the  dav,  to  which  I had  al- 
ways been  accustomed.  MoreJ  perhaps,  were  to  be 
seen,  in  the  morning,  flocking 'to  The  confessional,  than 
on  other  days,  and  manual  labor  w'as,  to  a considerable 
extent,  suspended,  but  the  shops  were  generally  open 
for  trade,  peddlers  were  crying  their  goods  for  sale  in 
the  streets/  and  many  women  were  sitting  at  the  doors 
of  their  shops  and  upon  the  shaded  side-walks,  employ- 
ed with  their  needles. 

For  the  sake  of  a little  exercise  before  breakfast,  I 
walked  out  to  look  at  the  great  Madeleine  Church. 
1 walked  entirely  round  it,  leisurely  surveying  the  nu- 
merous and  gigantic  columns  and  statues,  and  then  en- 
tered it  to  look  at  the  interior,  which  1 found  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly magnificent,  abounding  in  beautiful  columns, 
and  sculptures,  and  paintings,  with  a large  portion  of 
the  ceiling  over  head  splendidly  gilded.  People  were 
constantly]entering  and  departing  from  the  Church,  and 
a considerable  number  within  were  silently  engag- 
ed in  their  devotions. 

This  noble  edifice  has  the  rectangular  form  of  a Gre- 
cian temple,  and  is  without  spire,  tower  or  dome.  It 
is  built  of  marble — wras  begun  by  Louis  XV,  in  1764, 
and  finished  by  Louis  XY11I.  L is  226  feet  long,  130 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


35 


feet  wide,  and  surrounded  by  52  Corinthian  columns,  6 
feet  in  diameter  at  their  base  and  60  feet  high.  All  a- 
round  the  exterior  there  are  niches  in  the  wall,  con- 
taining sculptured  statues  ol  male  and  female  saints. 
The  great  door  at  the  south  front  is  of  bronze,  and  is  32 
feet  high  and  1 b\  wide.  Over  it,  in  the  gable,  is  an 
immense  alto-relievo  sculpture,  118  feet  long  and  25 
high  in  the  centre,  designed  to  represent  the  day  of 
judgement. 

At  11  A.  M.  I attended  service  at  the  Chapel  of  the 
English  Ambassador.  This  Chapel  is  very  neatly  fit- 
ted interiorly,  and  will  seat,  1 should  judge,  between  six 
and  seven  hundred;  and  I found  it  very  well  filled. 
Three  Clergymen  officiated,  one  reading  the  lessons  and 
prayers,  another  the  ante-communion  service,  and  the 
third  preached.  The  sermon  was  good  and  practical, 
but  not  brilliant,  and  the  music  was  thrilling,  even  in  my 
dull  ear. 

At  half  past  5,  I went  to  Mr.  Yattemare’s,  having  re- 
ceived a note  from  him  this  morning,  'inviting  me  to 
dine  with  him  at  6 o'clock  this  afternoon.  This  inter- 
esting family  consists  of  himslf  and  wife,  his  mother, 
son-in-law  and  married  daughter,  with  one  child,  a 
daughter  about  16,  and  a maiden  lady  about  30  years 
old.  About  half  past  seven  o’clock  two  Roman  Cath- 
olic Priests,  one  of  whom  acts  as  Chaplain  to  Mr.  Yat- 
temare’s family,  came  in  to  spend  the  evening.  I pass- 
ed the  time  very  pleasantly,  but  most  of  the  company 
could  converse  only  in  French,  and  my  knowledge  of 
that  language  was  too  slight  to  allow  me  to  be  much  ed- 
ified by  their  conversation.  I returned  to  my  lodgings 
about  10  o’clock,  and  have  since  been  writing  down  the 


36 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIPT  TO  PARIS 


occurrences  of  the  day  and  reflecting  upon  the  manner 
in  which  the  Sabbath  is  here  observed.  The  noise  and 
hustle  in  the  streets,  though1  of  a somewhat  different 
kind,  seems  to  be  nearly  as  great,  and  the  number  of 
people  greater,  than  on  any  of  the  other  days  of  the 
week.  Indeed,  on  Sunday  all  the  houses  seem  to  be 
emptied  of  their  living  contents  into  the  streets,  and 
squares,  and  promonades,  some  on  their  way  to  and 
from  their  devotions  in  the  Churches,  but  a vast  majority 
of  them,  apparently,  seeking  only  amusement.  The  ex- 
hibition of  waterworks  at  St.  Cloud,  5 miles  from  Paris, 
has,  to  day,  drawn  off  thousands  from  this  city  to  wit- 
ness and  enjoy  it.  Indeed,  Sunday,  here,  is  the  great 
day  for  shows,  and  circuses,  and  amusements  of  almost 
every  description. 

June  16.  Monday. — Went  this  morning  to  the  Bourse, 
or  Exchange,  and  called  at  the  Express  office  of  Liv- 
ingston & Wells,  which  is  very  near  it,  where  I had  an 
opportunity  too  see  recent  American  Newspapers,  and 
wrote  my  name  in  a book,  kept  there  for  recording  the 
names  and  residences  of  visitors  from  the  United  States. 
The  Exchange  is  a fine  modern  edifice,  built  of  stone. 
It  is  212  feet  long  and  126  wide,  and  is  surrounded  by  a 
continuous  range  of  66  columns.  At  half  past  ten  A.  M. 
I went  to  Mr.  Vattemare’s,  where  I was  introduced  to 
Mr.  Mohl,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Oriental  So- 
ciety, and  a very  distinguished  Oriental  scholar.  About 
noon  Mr.  Yattemare  went  with  me  to  the  Hotel  cle  Yille, 
or  city  hall,  to  look  at  the  city  library  there,  and  the 
nucleus  of  the  American  library,  which  he  is  forming. 
This  beginning  of  a Library  of  American  books,  though 
a mere  trifle  compared  with  the  city  library,  in  the  same 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  37 


building,  would  appear  quite  respectable  in  Vermont, 
being  about  half  the  size  of  that  of  the  Vermont  Univer- 
sity. Mr.  V.  imforms  me  that  he  has  the  pledge  of  the 
authority  of  Paris,  that  they  will  provide  a suitable 
building  for  his  American  Library,  in  a central  part  of 
the  city,  with  an  alcove  for  each  State,  and  the  coat  of 
arms  of  the  State  placed  over  it.  Mr.  V.  has,  at  his 
rooms  in  Rue  de  Clichy , a large  quantity  of  books,  which 
are  to  form  a part  of  the  Library  of  American  books,  as 
soon  as  rooms  are  in  readiness  for  their  reception. 

F rom  the  city  hall  we  went  to  the  celebrated  cathe- 
dral church  of  Notre  Dame , This  is  one  of  the  oldest, 
largest  and  most  remarkable  churches  in  Paris.  It 
stands  upon  an  island  in  the  river,  which  was  the  an- 
cient nucleus  around  which  the  present  city  of  Paris  has 
grown  up.  I do  not  learn  when  it  was  commenced  but 
I find  it  stated  that  service  was  performed  in  it  in  the 
year  1185.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a cross,  is  390  feet  long, 
144  wide  and  102  feet  high  at  the  transcept.  The  tow- 
ers are  204  feet  high,  and  its  immense  bell  is  said  to 
weigh  32,000  pounds.  The  interior  consists  of  the  nave 
and  double  isles,  and  along  the  sides,  are  numerous  beau- 
tiful chapels,  some  of  which  are  sufficiently  large  for 
village  churches.  Its  large  windows  are  of  stained  glass, 
and  the  whole  interior  was  much  filled  and  ornamented 
with  pictures,  and  statues,  and  crosses,  and  images. 
Among  the  ornamental  sculptures  of  the  immense  dome, 
and  nearly  over  the  great  altar,  numerous  sparrows  had 
budded  their  nests  and  were  rearing  their  young,  and 

their  chattering  reminded  me  of  the  words  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, 

“The  sparrow  hath  found  her  an  house,  where  she  may  lay  her  young; 
even  thy  altars,  O Lord  of  Hosts.” 

The  great  Organ,  in  this  church,  is  said  to  be  remarka- 


38 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


bly  fine,  and  the  west  front  and  towers  of  the  church  arc 
much  admired  by  architects. 

From  Notre  Dame  Church  we  proceeded  to  the  Halle 
aux  Vins , or  the  Paris  Wine  Vaults.  These  are  situat- 
ed adjacent  to  the  Garden  of  Plants,  and,  with  the  offi- 
ces of  the  wine  dealers,  cover  23  acres.  Mr.  Vattemare 
introduced  me  to  M.  Sari,  the  Superintendent,  who 
kindly  spent,  at  least,  two  hours  in  showing  us  through 
the  caves  and  cellars,  and  in  describing  the  extent  of  the 
business  and  the  manner  of  doing  it,  and  I must  say  that 
1 have  seen  nothing,  since  I left  home,  which  has  aston- 
ished me  more  than  this  establishment.  These  vaults 
are  capable  of  containing  half  a million  casks,  and  the 
business  gives  daily  employment  to  more  than  3000 
persons,  who  are,  most  of  the  time,  in  the  midst  of  the 
fumes  of  wine  and  brandy,  and  yet  it  is  the  most  quiet 
and  orderly  place  I have  seen  in  Paris.  The  wines  and 
spirits,  from  the  country,  are  brought  here  and  stored  for 
sale.  When  sold  and  delivered,  then  the  Government 
duties  on  them  are  paid,  which,  I am  told,  usually  ex- 
ceeds the  original  value  of  the  article.  The  method  of 
measuring  the  liquors  is  extremely  simple,  expeditious 
and  exact.  The  apparatus  is  so  arranged  that  the  casks 
are  drawn  upon  a platform,  and  their  contents  emptied 
into  receiving  vessels  with  graduated  scales  showing 
the  quantity.  The  empty  casks  are  let  down  below, 
the  liquor  returned  into  them,  bunged  up,  and  the  quan- 
tity in  each  cask  stamped  upon  it.  On  leaving  the  place 
the  Superintendent  kindly  engaged  to  furnish  me,  while 
in  Paris,  additional  particulars  respecting  the  establish- 
ment and  an  abstract  of  the  actual  business  transactions. 
I spent  the  little  time  remaining  before  night,  in  the  Gar- 


LONDON  AND  THE' GREAT  EXHIBITION.  39 


den  of  Plants,  looking  at  the  living  animals,  (among 
which  I saw  very  few  from  the  United  States)  and  then 
returned,  very  much  fatigued,  to  my  lodgings. 

June  17.  Tuesday. — This  being  Flower  Market  Day 
at  Place  de  la  Madeleine , I walked  over  there  this  morn- 
ing to  look  at  the  display  of  flowers  exhibited  for  sale. 
I found  a large  number  of  people  employed  in  unload- 
ing, from  their  carts,  flowers  and  flower-pots,  and  ar- 
ranging them  in  tasteful  order,  and  I was  quite  aston- 
ished at  their  multiplicity  and  variety.  Some  were  in 
bouquets,  placed  in  vessels  of  water,  but  far  the  greater 
part,  were  accompanied  by  the  whole  plants,  growing  in 
flower-pots.  Among  them  were  numerous  varieties  of 
roses,  pinks,  geraniums,  asters,  daisies,  &c.,  together  with 
many  flowers,  which,  to  me,  were  entirely  new. 

Paris  is  sometimes  called  the  City  of  Fashions.  I 
think  it  might  also  be  called  the  City  of  Flowers.  Be- 
sides the  flowers  brought  in  from  the  country  and  sub- 
urbs, flowers  are  cultivated  in  the  city  upon  almost  ev- 
ery foot  of  ground,  which  can  be  had  for  that  purpose. 
Flower  plots  are  met  with  almost  every  where,  and 
some  of  them  are  very  extensive  and  beautiful.  Fairs 
for  the  sale  of  flowers  are  held,  at  this  season,  every  day 
in  the  week.  Two  days,  Tuesday  and  Friday,  of  each 
week,  the  Fair  is  at  Place  de  la  Madeleine : and  I see  it 
stated  that,  on  some  occasions,  not  less  than  50,000  flow- 
er pots,  valued  at  75,000  francs,  are  exposed,  at  the  same 
time,  in  .the  market  place.  Selling  flowers  here  is  really 
a great  business. 

At  11  o’clock  Mr.  Vattemare  acoompanied  me  to  the 
Garden  of  Plants,  and  I took  along  with  me  the  speci- 
mens of  Vermont  Fishes  and  Reptiles  which  I had 


40 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


brought  out  for  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  of  Paris. 
Went  first  to  the  residence  of  the  distinguished  ichthy- 
ologist, M.  Valenciennes,  and,  finding  him  sick,  proceed- 
ed to  the  Museum,  where  I had  my  specimens  opened, 
and,  on  seeing  in  how  bad  condition  they  were,  I was 
well-nigh  sick  myself.  I had  been  at  the  trouble  to  pro- 
cure specimens  of  about  30  species  of  our  fishes  and 
some  10  or  12  species  of  reptiles,  and  had  them  inclos- 
ed in  a tin  box  filled  with  alcohol,  and  then  soldered  up 
air  tight,  and  this  box  was  inclosed  in  another  of  wood. 
But,  notwitstanding  all  my  labor  and  care,  full  one  half 
of  the  specimens  were  completely  spoiled.  I had  put 
too  many  specimens  together,  and  they  were  so  nearly 
afloat  in  the  alcohol,  that  the  motion  of  the  ship  kept 
them  constantly  moving  and  wearing  upon  one  another, 
and  the  consequence  was,  that  all  the  softer  fishes  were 
nearly  dissolved.  The  reptiles  and  hard  scaled  fishes 
were  in  much  better  condition,  and  some  of  them  scarce- 
ly injured  at  all. 

After  disposing  of  my  fishes  and  reptiles,  I took  a 
stroll  through  the  green  houses,  which  are  very*  exten- 
sive, and  well  filled  with  a great  variety  of  tropical  plants. 
I could  there  walk  in  the  midst  of  groves  of  palm  trees, 
25  feet  high  and  6 or  8 inches  in  diameter,  without  en- 
countering the  dangers  and  inconveniences  of  a tropical 
climate.  The  varieties  of  cactus,  cultivated,  are  exceed- 
ingly numerous,  many  of  them  being  singularly  gro- 
tesque in  shape,  and  gigantic  in  size.  Outside  of  the  green 
house,  on  an  elevated  part  of  the  Garden,  stands  a no- 
ble cedar  of  Lebanon.  It  was  set  out  here  by  the  elder 
Jessieu,  in  1735,  and  is  now  a little  more  than  three  feet 
in  diameter,  6 feet  from  the  ground.  Its  branches  are 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  41 


mostly  near  the  top  and  stretch  out  horizontally  12  or 
15  feet  in  all  directions.  This  tree,  together  with  the 
palms  in  the  green  houses,  reminded  me  of  the  beautiful 
figure  of  the  Psalmist,  when  he  says, 

“The  righteous  shall  flourish  as  the  palm  tree,  and  shall  spread  abroad 
like  the  cedar  in  Libanus.” 

From  the  green  houses,  I went  through  the  inclosures, 
in  which  plants  are  cultivated  in  the  open  air,  and  was 
there  introduced  to  the  Professor  of  Botany.  These  in- 
closures  are  very  extensive,  and  the  plants  are  admira- 
bly arranged  and  labelled,  for  facilitating  the  study  of 
scientific  Botany.  The  label  contains  the  scientific 
name  of  the  plant,  and,  if  exotic,  the  country  from  which 
it  was  obtained.  From  the  botanical  department,  I 
went  into  the  division  occupied  by  living  reptiles,  where 
I remained  a while,  and  then  passed  along  to  the  muse- 
um of  Comparative  Anatomy,  in  which  the  celebrated 
Cuvier  labored  with  so  much  diligence  and  success,  and, 
near  which,  a statue  is  erected  to  his  memory.  I found 
here  many  skeletons  of  Cetacea,  but  no  Beluga,  with 
which  to  compare  my  fossil  cetacean  bones  found  in 
Vermont,  some  of  which  I have  with  me.  Wearied 
and  footsore,  I reached  my  lodgings  about  sunset,  and 
thus  closed  my  perambulations  for  the  day. 

June  18.  Wednesday. — Took  a long  stroll  alone  thro’ 
the  northern  part  of  the  city,  and  reached  Mr.  Vatte- 
mare’s  a little  before  noon,  where  I met  the  distinguish- 
ed naturalist,  M.  Michili,  to  whom  I had  brought  out  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Desor.  At  one  o’clock  I 
went  with  Mr.  Vattemare  to  the  meeting  of  the  National 
and  Central  Agricultural  Society.  Mr.  V.  introduced  me 
to  the  President,  and  to  the  Secretary  M.  Delegarde,  before 


42 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


the  meeting  was  called  to  order.  After  the  meeting  was 
opened  I was  formally  introduced  to  the  Society  as  a 
distinguished  foreigner!  The  discussions  were  ani- 
mated, and  much  interest  was  manifested  in  the  busi- 
ness of  the  meeting,  but  I was  uiiable  to  profit  by  these 
discussions  as  I might  have  done  with  a better  knowl- 
edge of  the  French  language.  After  the  meeting  I was 
invited  by  the  Secretary,  M.  Delegarde,  to  dine  with  him 
the  next  day  at  5 P.  M. 

On  my  return,  I visited  the  Lithographic  establishment 
of  Lemercier,  said  to  be  the  most  extensive  in  the  world. 
From  one  position  I could  look  down  upon  more  than 
100  lithographic  presses  all  in  operation  at  the  same 
time.  Many  of  the  prints  were  run  through,  from  4 to 
7 different  presses,  receiving  a different  color  from  each, 
and  it  was  really  surprising  to  see  the  facility  with 
which  elegant  colored  pictures  were  multiplied  and  the 
delicacy  with  which  the  colors  were  laid  on  by  the 
printing-press.  I next  went  to  the  Louvre,  that  world 
renowned  repository  of  pictures,  statues  and  choice  an- 
tiquities. This  noble  buildiug  is  in  the  form  of  a quad- 
rangle, around  an  open  court.  Its  eastern  front  is 
magnificent,  being  500  feet  long  and  S5  feet  high,  and 
finished  in  the  finest  style  of  architecture.  It  is  in 
contemplation  to  have  the  Louvre  fully  united  with 
the  Tuilleries,  forming  the  whole  into  one  immense 
block.  These  two  buildings  contaiu  objects  of  inter- 
est, for  the  examination  of  which,  weeks  would  be  re- 
quired. I have  hardly  begun  to  look  at  them  to  day. 
The  Garden  of  Tuilleries  is  a delightful  place.  That 
portion  next  the  palace  is  beautifully  laid  out  and  cul-^ 
tivated,  with  flowers,  orange  trees  cj*c.,  and  has  several 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  43 


reservoirs  and  fountains,  while  more  than  half  of  the 
grounds,  is  thickly  covered  with  large  trees,  beneath 
which  the  earth  is  hard  and  smooth,  without  veg- 
etation, and  forming  delightful  walks  in  a hot  day. 
Among  the  other  objects  in  the  Garden,  are  interspers- 
ed a number  of  fine  statues. 

June  19.  Thursday. — Awoke  this  morning  with 
a very  sore  throat,  and  so  hoarse  I could  hardly  speak, 
in  consequence,  I have  no  doubt,  of  a cold,  taken  yes- 
terday, while  sitting  in  the  great  hall  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Meeting,  after  exercising  under  a hot  sun.  But, 
notwithstanding  these  and  a severe  head-ache,  I ven- 
tured to  accompany  Mr.  Vattemare  to  a meeting  of  the 
Central  Horticultural  Society  of  France.  I was  intro- 
duced to  the  meeting,  as  interested  in  Horticultural 
pursuits,  and  was  cordially  received.  The  Society, 
through  the  President,  presented  me  their  silver  medal 
and  requested  me  to  become  a corresponding  member 
of  the  Society.  The  principal  subjects  discussed  were 
the  diseases  of  vegetables,  and  many  specimens  of  dis- 
eased plants  were  exhibited. 

On  my  return  from  the  horticultural  meeting,  I 
stopped  awhile  at  the  Palais  Royal , where  I had  the 
pleasure  of  witnessing  the  ascension  of  a monster  bal- 
loon, carrying  up  six  persons  in  a car  suspended  under 
it.  There  was  no  wind,  and  the  carriage  of  the  aerial 
travellers  mounted  very  gracefully  through  the  air.  I 
watched  it,  till  it  had  reached,  at  least,  a mile  above 
the  earth’s  surface,  and  then  went  to  look  at  the  an- 
cient church  of  St  Germain  V Auxerrois*  This 

church  is  celebrated  for  being  the  place  from  which 
the  signal  was  given  for  the  commencement  of  the 


44 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


horrid  massacre,  on  the  Eve  of  St.  Bartholomew’s  Day, 
the  23d  of  August,  1572.  The  bells  of  this  church  are 
said  to  have  been  tolled,  during  the  whole  of  that 
dreadful  night.  The  windows  of  stained  glass,  and 
some  of  the  chapels  in  this  church,  are  quite  beauti- 
ful. We  entered  the  church  just  at  the  close  of  a re- 
ligious service,  but  not  in  season  to  hear  anything 
more  than  the  last  chant  of  the  confirmation  office ; 
the  Bishop  having  been  administering  the  rite  of  con- 
firmation to  about  100  candidates,  who  were  distin- 
guished by  their  white  robes. 

June  20.  Friday. — Had  a very  restless  night,  with 
considerable  pain  in  my  head  and  limbs,  a hard  cough, 
with  soreness  in  the  throat  and  across  the  chest,  and  no 
appetite  for  food, — symptoms  indicating,  I fear,  an 
attack  of  lung-fever.  The  prospect  of  being  sick  so 
far  from  home,  is,  certainly,  not  a very  agreeable  one, 
but  it  would  be  more  gloomy,  did  I uot  think  that,  in 
case  of  need,  I could  rely  upon  the  kind  attention  of 
my  friend,  Mr.  Vattemare,  and  that,  if  I should  die 
here,  he  would  inform  my  friends  in  America  of  the 
fact.  But  I hope,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  that  the 
necessity  of  doing  neither  of  these  will  be  imposed 
upon  him,  and  that  I may  soon  get  the  better  of  my 
present  indisposition. 

Feeling  that  my  alternatives  were,  either  to  go  to 
bed,  or  to  be  moving  about  in  the  open  air,  I resolved 
upon  the  latter,  and  about  noon  dragged  myself  to  the 
residence  of  M.  Verneuil,  the  distinguished  Geologist, 
to  whom  I brought  a letter  from  Mr.  Desor,  but  was  sor- 
ry to  learn  that  he  was  away  on  a geological  excur- 
sion in  Spain.  I also  called  at  the  office  of  the  Amer- 


45 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

icau  Legation,  and  left  a letter  to  our  Minister,  Mr. 
Rives,  which  was  entrusted  to  my  care  by  my  friend 
and  college  class-mate,  Orson  Kellogg,  of  New  York. 
In  the  afternoon  I made  my  way  to  the  Bibliotheqae 
da  Roi , or  National  Library,  on  rue  Richelieu.  This 
is  one  of  the  largest,  if  not  the  very  largest,  library  in 
the  world.  The  building,  containing  it,  is  540  feet 
long,  and  130  feet  in  width.  The  contents  are  stated 
at  1,090,000  printed  books  and  pamphlets,  100,000 
manuscripts,  100.000  medals,  1,400,000  engravings, 
and  300.000  maps.  Among  the  manuscripts,  are  many, 
which  are  very  ancient  and  interesting.  I spent  some 
time  in  turning  over  the  pages  and  admiring  the  illus- 
trations of  what  is  said  to  be  the  original  manuscript 
of  Froissart’s  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  France  and 
England.  It  is  most  clearly  and  beautifully  written, 
with  illuminated  capitals,  and  richly  bound.  Con- 
nected with  the  library,  there  is  a fine  collection  of  an- 
cient statues,  armour,  coins,  &c.  I noticed  some  splen- 
did ancient  cameos,  beautifully  sculptured,  I think,  in 
onyx-stone.  Some  of  them  were  as  large  as  a com- 
mon sized  breakfast  plate,  and  several  were  set  in 
frames  of  pure  massive  gold.  Among  the  armour  were 
many  brazen  helmets  and  coats  of  mail,  which  were 
worn  by  the  ancient  Kings  of  France. 

June  21.  Saturday — Was  very  much  fatigued  by 
•my  efforts  yesterday,  and  retired  feeling  quite  unwell, 
but,  7<uting  a little  sleep  during  the  night,  I found  my- 
self some  better  this  morning.  I have,  however, 
coughed  almost  incessantly.  Spent  most  of  the  fore- 
noon, with  Mr.  Vattcmare,  at  his  rooms,  and  in  the  af- 
5 


4G 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


tcrnoon  he  accompanied  me  to  the  Champ  de  Mars , 
to  witness  a review  of  troops  by  Napoleon,  the  Presi- 
dent of  France.  Champ  de  Mars  is  a clean  level  plat 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  which  is  half  a mile 
long  and  one  eighth  of  a mile  wide,  and  is  used  for 
parades,  reviews  and  races.  The  number  of  troops  re- 
viewed to  day  was  said  to  be  20,000.  The  whole 
number  in  and  about  Paris  is  near  100,000.  I saw 
Napoleon  only  at  a distance,  on  horseback,  and  could 
discover  nothing  about  him,  which  would  lead  me  to 
think  him  anything  more  than  a man.  But,  judging 
from  what  I hear  said,  I should  think  he  had  been,  of 
late,  gaining  in  the  estimation  of  the  better  part  of  the 
nation,  and  that  they  would  prefer  that  he  should  con- 
tinue to  hold  the  reins  of  government,  rather  than  risk 
the  experiment  of  a change. 

The  review  did  not  confirm  the  favorable  opinion  I 
had  formed  of  the  appearance  of  the  French  troops. 
The  men  did  not  appear  to  me  to  be  either  remarkably 
well  sized,  or  well  trained;  nor  was  there  that  regular- 
ity and  precision  in  their  evolutions  and  movements, 
which  I had  expected.  The  horses  made  a sorry  ap- 
pearance. There  were  many  stout  heavy  bodied  hors- 
es, particularly  those  attached  to  the  artillery,  but  I 
noticed  very  few,  which  moved  with  the  easy  and  gra- 
ceful majesty,  which  are  characteristic  of  many  of  our 
American  horses.  Many  of  them  had  that  stiff,  pound- . 
ing  gait,  which,  in  the  view  of  a Vermonter,  would,  at 
once,  characterize  them  as  French  Horses. 

On  my  return  from  Camp  de  Mars,  stopped  at  the 
Hotel  des  Invalides.  This  very  extensive  establishment 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  47 


is  for  the  reception  of  superanuated  and  disabled  sold- 
iers, of  whom  more  than  4000  are  here  daily  fed,  and 
for  the  most  part,  lodged,  at  the  public  expense.  This 
establishment  occupies  18  acres.  The  main  building 
is  612  feet  long,  4 stories  high  and  lighted  by  133 
windows,  besides  attics.  The  gilded  dome,  over 
that  portion  occupied  as  a church,  has  the  richest  ex- 
terior of  any  one  in  Paris.  Directly  beneath  this 
dome  is  the  tomb,  in  which,  are  deposited  the  earthly 
remains  of  the  Emperor,  Napoleon,  which  were  brought 
hither  from  St.  Helena.  I visited  the  kitchen  where 
the  cooking  is  done  for  this  great  family.  Every  thing 
seemed  well  arranged,  but  on  a gigantic  scale.  The 
soup-kettles  would  hold,  at  least,  a barrel  each. 

The  sight  of  these  shattered  specimens  of  humani- 
ty, and  the  consideration  of  the  causes,  which  brought 
them  to  their  present  condition,  were  calculated  to 
produce  melancholy  reflections.  Many  of  these  men 
had  carried  the  arms  of  France  into  foreign  countries, 
and  had  fought  and  conquered  under  Bonaparte.  They 
had  marched  erect,  and  firm,  and  irresistible  on  the 
field  of  battle,  but  now,  how  changed!  Scarred,  and 
maimed,  and  bowed  down  by  infirmity  and  disease, 
they  are  tottering  towards  their  graves  with  weak  and 
trembling  steps.  Many  of  them  have  lost  a hand,  or 
a foot,  or  a leg,  or  an  arm,  and  some  of  them  have  bar- 
tered more  than  one  of  their  limbs  for  the  glory  of  a 
victory  under  Napoleon.  Arranged  in  the  yards  of 
the  establishment  are  many  large  cannon,  which  are 
preserved,  as  trophies  of  foreign  victories.  In  these 


48 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


(he  enfeebled  veterans  proudly  exult,  and,  among  them, 
they  daily,  in  imagination, 

“Fight  all  their  battle3  o’er  again.” 

June  22.  Sunday. — A rainy  day;  and  my  cough  be- 
ing very  bad,  have  not  attended  church.  There  has 
been  a great  display  of  Water-Works  to  day  at  Ver- 
sailles. and  many  Americans  went  out  this  morning  to 
witness  them.  Versailles  is  12  miles  southwest  from 
Paris,  and  the  two  places  are  connected  by  two  Rail- 
Ways.  The  palace,  picture  galleries  and  fountains  at 
Versailles  arc  said  to  be  th;  most  remarkable  in  France. 
The  playing  of  the  fountains  there  takes  place  only  a 
few  times  in  the  course  of  the  year,  and  thes?  exhibi- 
tions, I am  told,  are  almost  always  on  Sunday,  so  that 
protestant  travellers  must,  for  the  most  part,  either  fore- 
go the  pleasure  of  seeing  them,  or  do  violence  to  their 
consciences  by  breaking  the  Sabbath.  To  pass  through 
all  the  rooms  and  galleries  of  pictures  at  Versailles,  is 
said  to  require  a walk  of  7 miles. 

Juke  23.  Monday . — At  Havre  my  American  pass- 
port was  taken  from  me,  and  I was  furnished  with  a 
French  passport  to  be  taken  with  me  to  Paris.  Hence 
it  becomes  necessary,  on  leaving  Paris,  to  regain  my 
American  passport,  to  enable  me  to  go  out  of  the  coun- 
try, and  proceed  to  England.  For  this  purpose  I went, 
to  day,  to  the  office  of  the  Prefect  of  Police,  where  I 
surrendered  my  French  passport,  and  received  the  one 
which  was  taken  from  me  at  Havre,  with  instructions 
to  have  it  certified  by  the  American  Secretary  of  Le- 
gation, and  then  brought  back  for  further  signature  at 
the  Police  office.  I followed  the  instructions,  so  far 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


49 


as  to  get  the  signature  of  the  Secretary  of  Legation, 
but,  believing  that  it  was  ordered  back  for  further 
signature  at  the  Police  office,  only  for  the  purpose  of 
claiming  another  fee  of  two  or  three  francs,  I have 
determined  to  disobey  that  part  of  the  order,  and  risk 
the  consequences. 

In  the  afternoon  I went  to  Mr.  Vattemare’s  rooms, 
and,  thence,  through  a portion  of  the  north  part  of  the 
city,  where  I passed  a parade  ground,  and  had  an  op- 
portunity of  witnessing  the  maneuvering  and  drilling 
of  a division  of  the  French  troops.  There  were,  per- 
haps, 12  or  15  hundred  on  the  parade,  in  several  dif- 
ferent squads.  The  evolutions  and  exercises  were,  to 
a considerable  extent,  unlike  any  thing  I had  ever  wit- 
nessed in  America.  Most  of  the  movements  were 
very  sudden  and  violent,  and  yet  there  seemed  to  be 
great  exactness  and  precision  in  all  the  performances. 

Junk  24.  Tuesday. — Have  visited,  to  day,  the  Pal- 
ace and  Gardens  of  Luxembourg,  the  Pantheon,  &c. 
These  are  all  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city. 
The  Gardens  occupy,  I should  judge,  about  40  acres. 
The  Palace  fronts  them  on  the  north  side,  and  is  a 
large  and  elegant  building,  but,  being  situated  lower 
than  the  grounds  in  front,  it  does  not  exhibit  that 
grand  and  imposing  aspect,  it  might  have  under  other 
circumstances.  It  was  built  by  Marie  de  Medicis,  in 
1015.  In  1795  the  Directory  held  its  sittings  in  this 
Palace,  and  under  the  Consulate,  the  Consuls  had  their 
sittings  here.  On  the  creation  of  the  Chamber  of  Peers, 
in  1814,  it  became  the  place  of  their  meetings.  It 

contains  a picture  gallery,  for  the  reception  of  the  best 

5* 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


59 

works  of  living  artists,  which  are  purchased  and  plac- 
ed here  by  the  government.  In  front  of  the  Palace  is 
a fountain  and  a beautiful  pool  of  water,  and  the  gar- 
dens furnish  delightful  promenades,  with  shady  ave- 
nues, lined  with  fine  marble  statues.  The  bread  and 
smooth  avenue,  leading  from  the  front  of  the  Palace, 
through  the  garden,  and  onward,  in  a strait  line,  to  the 
National  Astronomical  Observatory,  is  very  handsome. 
It  was  in  this  avenue,  between  the  garden  and  the 
observatory,  that  Marshal  Ney  was  shot,  in  1815. 
The  southwestern  section  of  the  garden,  is  devoted  to 
the  cultivation  of  fruit  trees, — mostly  cherries  and 
pears.  The  cherries  are  now  ripening,  and  the  young 
pears  average,  in  size,  a trifle  larger  than  a ripe  cherry. 
The  pear  trees  are  all  trained  in  the  form  of  sharp 
cones,  which  the  French  call  Quenouille  (distaff) 
training.  The  trees  appeared  to  be  about  8 feet  apart, 
and  might  average  12  feet  in  height.  The  lowest 
limbs,  in  most  cases, come  out  about  18  inches  above 
the  ground,  and  extend,  horizontally,  two  or  three  feet. 
They  are  shortened,  by  cropping  in  above,  giving  the 
tree  the  shape  of  a cone.  The  advantages  of  this,  ov- 
er the  ordinary  method,  seem  to  consist  in  allowing 
more  trees  to  grow  on  the  same  plat,  and  in  making 
them  more  productive,  in  consequer.ee  of  the  horizon- 
tal training  of  the  limbs. 

From  the  Luxembourg  I went  to  the  Pantheon, 
which  is  situated  only  a few  rods  to  the  eastward,  in 
Rue  St.  Jacques.  It  was  finished  in  1764,  and  I lock 
upon  it  as  one  of  the  most  chaste  and  classic  structures 
in  Paris.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a cross,  being  about  320 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  5 


feet  long,  240  wide,  and  282  feet  to  the  top  of  the 
dome.  The  columns  are  very  numerous,  the  whole 
number,  within  and  about  the  edifice,  being  stated  at 
258.  The  interior,  which  is  all  in  one  vast  room, 
reaching  upward  to  the  crown  of  the  dome,  appears 
quite  naked,  there  being  only  a few  statues  and  paint- 
ings within,  but  these  are  of  a high  order.  It  was  in 
this  building,  with  a ball,  suspended  by  a wire  from 
the  center  of  the  great  dome,  and  vibrating  near  the 
floor,  that  M.  Faucault  first  demonstrated  the  earth’s 
rotation  on  its  axis,  by  rendering  it  visible  to  the  eye. 
His  apparatus  is  still  here,  but  the  ball  is  not  suspend- 
ed. His  graduated  circle  is  in  the  form  of  a hoop, 
and  elevated  about  20  inches  from  the  floor.  Its  di- 
ameter is  about  14  feet. 

June  25.  M^edncsday. — Having  fixed  upon  to-mor- 
row for  my  departure  from  Paris,  L have  spent  most  of 
the  daf^fn  making  hasty  calls.  I called,  first,  upon 
Mr.  S.  G.  Goodrich,  the  American  Consul,  by  whom  1 
was  introduced  to  his  wife  and  daughter.  Called  at  the 
residence  of  the  American  Minister,  but  he  was  away, 
and  did  not  see  him.  Called  also  and  took  leave  of 
iny  kind  friend,  Mr.  Yattemare,  and  went,  for  the  last 
time,  I suppose,  to  the  Express  Office  of  Livingston  & 
Wells,  to  look  at  the  Register  of  American  names  and 
the  files  of  American  Newspapers. 

During  my  stay  in  Paris,  I have  observed  many  things 
which  were  novel  to  me,  and  of  which  I had  hoped  to 
note  some  account  in  my  journal,  but  have  not,  hither- 
to, found  any  time : nor  have  I time  now  to  call  them  to 
mind  and  write  them  out.  But.  as  I expect  to  leave  Paris 


52 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


to-morrow,  I will  here  record  a few  general  remarks.  I 
have  found  things  very  different  here  from  what  I had 
been  accustomed  to,  at  home,  but  no  more  so  than  I had 
expected.  Indeed,  I have  experienced  much  less  annoy- 
ance and  trouble  from  government  surveillance  and  po- 
lice regulations,  than  was  anticipated.  Soon  after  I took 
lodgings  at  the  Hotel  des  Etrangers , mine  host  sent  to 
my  room  for  my  passport,  which  was  returned  in  the 
course  of  half  an  hour,  and  that  was  the  only  inquiry, 
which  has  ever  been  made  for  it;  and  that  inquiry  was 
in  consequence  of  a regulation,  which  imposes  a consid- 
erable penalty  on  keepers  of  public  houses,  who  do  not 
furnish  proof  that  the  foreigners,  who  have  taken  lodg- 
ings with  them,  are  in  the  possession  of  regular  pass- 
ports. 

In  Paris,  and,  indeed,  in  all  parts  of  France,  I think 
Americans,  generally,  are  treated  with  more  respect 
than  the  people  of  any  other  foreign  country,  and  to  this 
general  friendly  feeling  towards  Americans,  trfbrs  than 
any  thing  else,  I attribute  the  kind  attentions  I have  re- 
ceived during  my  sojourn  here. 

The  mode  of  living  and  manner  of  eating  here,  differs 
very  much  from  ours.  With  us,  at  our  principal  meals, 
a considerable  variety  of  dishes,  is  usually  brought  upon 
the  table,  at  the  same  time,  but  here,  seldom  more  than 
one  or  two.  With  some  exceptions,  the  dinner  courses 
are  nearly 'as  follows  : first  a roll  or  piece  of  bread  is 
placed  by  the  side  of  each  person’s  plate,  then  comes 
the  soup.  The  dishes  being  removed,  then  is  brought 
the  fish — then  the  mutton  or  lamb — then  the  veal — then 
beef—  then  the  fowls — then  the  potatoes — then  the  salad 
then  the  pudding — then  the  strairberrics  or  other  fruits 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  53 


— then  the  cheese — and  lastly,  the  coffee.  The  wine 
runs  freely  through  all  the  stages.  When  tea  or  coffee 
is  taken,  morning  or  evening,  each  one  has  his  own  tea 
or  coffee  pot,  from  which  he  pours  out  and  seasons, 
with  sugar  and  cream,  to  his  own  liking.  The  bread  I 
have  usually  found  to  be  of  good  quality,  but  the  loaves 
are  often  of  singular  forms.  The  common  bread  is  mostly 
in  rolls,  about  three  feet  long  and  four  inches  in  diame- 
ter, resembling,  in  form,  a huge  war-club.  It  is  com- 
mon to  have  one,  or  more,  of  these  standing  in  thecorner 
of  the  room,  with  the  lower  end  resting  on  the  floor, 
while  pieces  are  cut,  as  they  are  required,  from  the  upper 
end.  When  piled  upon  a hand-cart  and  wheeled  through 
the  streets,  a;  is  frequently  done,  they  would  be  mis- 
taken at  a little  distance,  for  a load  of  round  wood.  The 
butter  is  usually  brought  upon  the  table,  entirely  fresh, 
and  each  person  salts,  what  he  eats,  to  his  taste.  Board 
and  lodgings  may  be  had  at  almost  all  prices,  depend- 
ing upon  kind,  place  and  circumstances.  I have  had  a 
comfortable  room  with  good  board  and  bed,  at  the  Hotel 
des  E b angers , for  $1.50  per  day. 

The  conveyances  to  different  parts  of  Paris  are  conve- 
nient, under  good  regulation,  and  the  charges  moderate. 
Omnibusses  run  through  all  the  principal  streets  and  to 
various  public  places,  and  the  charge  for  any  distance 
within  the  city,  is  only  six  sons.  Besides  these,  great 
numbers  of  coaches  and  cabs  are  waiting  at  different 
stations,  which  may  readily  be  had  for  any  special  ser- 
vice. These  are  paid  by  the  hour,  distance,  or  places 
of  stopping.  The  authorized  charge  per  hour,  is  thirty 
sous  for  the  first,  and  twenty-five  for  each  subsequent 
hour.  The  cabs  are  all  numbered  and  the  drivers  are 


54 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


under  the  strict  surveillance  of  the  police.  On  entering 
the  cab,  the  driver  gives  you  his  number,  and  then,  if 
you  are  any  way  maltreated  by  him,  you  have  only  to 
hand  the  number  and  state  the  case  to  a police  officer,  and 
the  driver  is  called  at  once  to  give  an  account  of  himself. 

Among  the  interesting  places  in  Paris,  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde  is  the  most  central  and  beautiful.  It  has 
Champs- Ely  sees  on  the  west,  and  the  Tuillerics  on  the 
east.  Ths  north  is  covered  by  two  immense  symmetri- 
cal buildings  occupied  by  the  government,  and  the  south 
by  the  Seine,  over  which  a handsome  bridge  leads  to  the 
palace  of  the  National  Assembly.  The  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde measures  750  feet  from  north  to  south  and  528  from 
east  to  west.  It  is  surrounded  by  groups  of  statues  and 
sunken  gardens,  and  is  splendidly  lighted  by  night  with 
gas.  In  the  center  stands  the  granite  obelisk  of  Luxor , 
covered  with  hieroglyphics,  on  each  side  of  which,  at  a 
little  distance,  are  beautiful  fountains,  which  are  kept 
playing  during  the  day  and  evening.  The  device  of 
these  fountains  is  somewhat  fantastical,  consisting  of 
human  figures,  supporting  above  them,  a large  basin, 
and  each  holding  a dolphin  under  his  arm,  from  whose 
mouth  a stream  of  water  is  ejected  upward  over  the  head 
of  the  statue  into  the  basin ; over  the  rim  of  which,  it 
flows  down  into  the  reservoir  at  the  base. 

At  the  time  of  my  visits  to  the  Garden  of  Plants,  I 
noted,  in  my  journal,  very  little  respecting  the  wonders 
of  that  vast  and  interesting  establishment,  intending  to 
be  more  particular  when  I had  become  better  acquaint- 
ed with  it.  But  my  indisposition  has,  in  a great  meas- 
ure frustrated  my  intention.  The  Garden  of  Plants  is, 
I believe,  under  the  control  of  the  Minister  of  the  Inte- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


55 


rior.  It  consists  of  six  general  departments,  viz  : 1. — A 
Botanical  Garden,  with  spacious  green-houses;  2. — Gal- 
leries, in  which  are  arranged  vast  collections,  belonging 
to  the  three  kingdoms  of  Nature : 3. — A Gallery  of  Com  • 
parative  Anatomy ; 4. — A Menagerie  of  living  Animals; 
5. — A Library  of  Natural  History ; 6. — An  Amphithea- 
tre and  Labratory,  for  Public  Lectures.  The  Lectures, 
two  or  three  being  delivered  daily,  from  April  to  the  end 
of  August,  are  all  gratuitous. 

Among  the  multifarious  employments  of  the  people  of 
Paris,  there  is  one  which  has  afforded  me  no  small 
amusement.  Very  early  each  morning,  the  streets  and 
side  walks  are  all  swept,  and  the  dirt  and  rubbish  gath- 
ered ixto  little  piles  along  the  gutters.  This  is  no  sooner 
done,  than  sundry  persons,  male  and  female,  with  bas- 
kets suspended  upon  their  backs,  and  sticks  in  their 
hands  having  a croaked  nail  in  the  end,  may  be  seen 
passing  from  heap  to  heap,  and  snatching  various  little 
articles  with  their  hooked  nail,  and  whirling  them  dex- 
terously over  their  heads  into  the  basket.  These  are 
called  Chiffonniers , or  Rag-gatherers.  They  pick  out 
and  carry  off,  not  only  the  rags,  but  the  smallest  scraps 
of  paper  and  bits  of  bone.  Large  numbers  are  said  to 
pursue  this  business  for  their  living ; but  scanty — very 
scanty,  methinks,  must  be  the  pittance  of  those  who  rely 
upon  it. 

June  26.  Thursday. — Having  adjusted  matters  with 
“ mine  host”  I proceeded  to  the  Rail-Way  station,  and 
at  9 this  morning,  took  my  final  leave  of  Paris,  and 
arrived  at  Havre  at  half  past  2 this  afternoon.  Here  I 
am  to  remain  till  half-past  10,  and  then  leave  in  a Brit- 
ish steamer  for  Southampton. 


56 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


As  I passed  up  the  Seine  to  Paris  on  the  13th  of  June, 
I observed  that  the  farmers  were  just  beginning  to  cut 
their  hay,  and  to-day,  as  I came  down,  they  seemed  to 
be  in  the  very  midst  of  their  haying.  In  my  rapid  flight 
through  the  country,  I had  little  chance  to  observe  the 
growing  crops.  Rye  seemed  to  predominate  for  some 
distance  below  Paris,  and  from  thence  to  Rouen  I noticed 
some  fine  orchards  of  plums,  cherries  and  pears,  and 
between  Rouen  and  Havre,  a few  good  apple  orchards. 
I have  observed,  to-day,  several  extensive  fields  devoted 
to  the  cultivation  of  mustard.  It  is  just  beginning  to 
ripen,  and  there  appears  to  be  a very  heavy  growth  of 
it  upon  the  ground. 

I have  spent  my  lime,  since  my  arrival,  in  wandering 
about  this  ancient  city.  Havre  is  a town  of  considerable 
size,  and  of  great  commercial  importance,  on  account  of 
being  the  chief  sea-port  of  Paris.  The  docks  and  ac- 
commodations here,  for  shipping,  are  quite  extensive, 
and  are  still  being  enlarged.  They  are  separated  from 
the  river  and  bay  by  a long  line  of  fortifications.  The 
docks  are  of  great  depth,  inclosed  by  massive  walls  of 
hewn  stone,  which  are  very  compactly  filled  behind 
with  gravel  and  nodules  of  flint,  from  the  chalk  forma- 
tion. Much  difficulty  is,  however,  encountered  in  en- 
tering the  docks,  on  account  of  the  great  and  rapid  rise 
and  fall  of  the  tide,  which  has  a sweep  of  22  feet,  be- 
tween high  and  low  water  mark.  Large  vessels  are, 
frequently,  obliged  to  wait,  in  the  bay,  several  hours, 
before  they  can  enter  the  docks,  or  come  to  land.  Just 
within  the  docks,  there  is  an  extensive  range  of  buildings, 
erected  by  government  for  soldier's  barracks,  but  used, 
in  part,  I am  told,  for  a prison. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


r ~r 

o< 


The  Franklin  was  lying  in  her  dock,  where  I left  her 
two  weeks  ago,  with  the  stars  and  stripes  floating  grace- 
fully over  her.  I went  on  board,  where  I found  one  of 
the  mates,  the  purser  and  the  engineer,  comfortably- 
seated  in  the  beautiful  dining  saloon,  taking  their  dinner. 
I was  cordially  invited  to  partake  with  them,  but  was 
obliged  to  decline,  on  account  of  having  just  dined  on 
shore.  It  really  seemed  almost  like  getting  home,  to  be 
once  more  on  board  of  an  American  skip.  Capt.  W ot- 
ton,  I was  informed,  left  Havre  this  morning,  for  Paris. 

In  the  lower  and  older  parts  of  Havre,  the  streets  are 
narrow,  dirty  and  disagreeable,  and  all  the  buildings 
have  the  appearance  of  great  antiquity.  But,  in  the 
newer  and  higher  parts,  and,  particularly,  upon  the 
rising  grounds  towards  the  north-west,  which  overlook 
the  city,  there  are  many  large  and  elegant  buildings, 
and  delightful  residences,  surrounded  by  beautiful  shade 
trees  and  gardens.  I came  on  board  the  steamer  a little 
aft?r  sunset,  and  now,  having  completed  my  few  notes, 
I shall  pack  myself  away  in  my  berth,  and  await  the 
hour  of  departure. 

June  27.  Friday. — I was  very  fortunate,  last  night, 
in  coming  on  board  and  in  retiring  early  to  my  berth, 
for  I,  thereby,  secured  an  indifferent  nap  before  the 
steamer  started,  and  a good  berth  for  the  whole  night, 
which  less  than  half  were  able  to  do,  on  account  of  the 
smallness  of  the  boat,  and  the  great  number  who  crowd- 
ed on  board.  I was  somewhat  aroused  by  the  noise  and 
confusion  occasioned  by  the  preparations  for  departure, 
and  in  getting  under  way,  and  I have  some  faint  recol- 
lection of  seeing  two  stern  looking  men,  in  official  habit, 
one  holding  a lantern,  who  shoved  aside  the  screen  in 
6 


58 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 

front  of  my  berth,  and  demanded  my  passport.  I very 
submissively  handed  it  to  them,  and,  after  looking  at  it 
a moment,  they  returned  it  to  me  and  quietly  retired, 
By  my  great  day’s  work,  yesterday,  I had  got  exceed- 
ingly fatigued,  and  the  fatigue,  together  with  an  almost 
incessant  cough  and  stricture  across  the  lungs,  prevent- 
ed my  getting  any  sound  sleep  during  the  night,  and 
yet,  I was  so  dozy  and  stupid,  that  I was  hardly  aware 
that  the  steamer  was  under  way  till  morning  ; but  when 
I arose,  about  sunrise,  I found  that  I had,  not  only  taken 
my  leave  of  France,  but  was,  already,  out  of  sight  of 
land. 

During  my  stay  of  14  days,  I have  seen  only  a very 
small  portion  of  the  country ; but  that  small  portion  is 
an  important  one,  and  shows  very  conspicuously  in  the 
annals  of  France,  and  of  Europe.  Paris  is  literally  the 
nucleus — the  heart — the  city  of  France,  and  all  the  rest 
of  France  has  been  aptly  designated  as  its  suburbs. 
The  beats  and  spasms  of  this  heart,  like  that  of  the  hu- 
man system,  are  felt  in  the  utmost  and  minutest  ex- 
tremities of  the  nation. 

Rouen  and  Havre — -the  lower  valley  of  the  Seine, 
that  granary  of  ancient  Normandy, — to  the  former 
greatness  and  importance  of  these,  the  pages  of  history 
bear  ample  testimony ; but  these  are  now  all  over- 
shadowed by  the  Great  Metropolis.  About  eight  hun- 
dred years  have  now  elapsed,  since  William,  Duke  of 
Normandy,  passed  over  these  waters,  which  we  are  now 
traversing, — landed  in  Sussex — fought  the  battle  of 
Hastings — seated  himself  on  the  throne  of  Britain — and 
became  William  the  Conqueror.  What  changes  have 
since  taken  place  ! what  events  have  since  transpired  ! 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  59 

As  we  passed  along,  on  our  way  to  Southampton,  we 
had  a charming  view,  on  our  left,  of  the  Isle  of  Wight 
— its  high  chalk  cliffs  and  smooth  grassy  lawns — its 
gentle  hills  and  vallies  and  its  delightful  groves — its 
neat  cottages  and  splendid  mansions;  and  on  the  right, 
of  Gosport  and  Portsmouth,  and  a beautiful  line  of  coast 
stretching  off  to  the  east.  The  two  principal  places 
seen  on  the  Isle  of  Wight  are  Rye  and  Cowes.  Between 
these,  on  elevated  grounds,  stands  the  Queen’s  new 
Palace,  called  the  Osborne  House.  It  commands  a fine 
view  of  land  and  water  scenery,  and  appeared  to  good 
advantage,  as  we  passed  it  this  morning,  lighted  up  and 
burnished  by  the  rising  sun. 

It  was  about  8 o’clock  in  the  morning,  when  we  ar- 
rived at  Southampton,  where  I first  set  foot  on  the  soil 
of  England.  As  I was  to  leave  at  9,  in  the  cars  for 
London,  I had  my  baggage,  after  being  inspected,  con- 
veyed directly  to  the  Rail-Way  station,  while  I pro- 
ceeded thither  on  foot.  On  my  way  I was  beset  by  the 
greatest  number,  and  most  importuning  gang  of  runners 
from  public  houses,  that  I have  ever  encountered.  In 
walking  from  the  dock  to  the  station,  I had  no  less 
than  seven  cards  thrust  into  my  hands,  setting  forth  the 
superior  advantages  of  as  many  hotels.  After  seeing 
my  baggage  safely  deposited,  I went  into  the  nearest 
public  house,  whose  card  read 

'*  For  Plain  Breakfast,  . . . Is., 

For  Dinner, . ......  .‘Is.  Qd.  &c.” 

and  called  for  a plain  breakfast.  I was  informed  that  it 
was  ready,  and  was  conducted  into  the  eating-room, 
where  I found  a table  set  with  bread,  butter,  and  some 


60 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


joints  of  cold  meat.  The  table  appeared  quite  naked, 
to  be  sure,  but  as  bread  and  butter  and  black  tea  usu- 
ally constitute  my  bill  of  fare.  I made  no  words  about, 
it,  but  sat  down,  ordered  a cup  of  tea  and  commenced 
eating.  In  the  mean  time,  others  came  in  and  seated 
themselves  at  the  table,  to  the  number  of  near  a dozen. 
Having  eaten  some  bread  and  butter  and  a small  slice 
©f  cold  mutton,  and  drank  two  cups  of  black  tea,  I rose 
from  the  table,  and  handed  out  a shilling  to  pay  my  bill; 
but  was  told  that  a shilling  only  paid  for  a plain  break- 
fast, and  I had  eaten  some  meat,  and  must,  therefore, 
pay  Is.  8cZ.  I was  somewhat  surprised  at  the  demand, 
but,  as  it  was  the  first  meal  I had  eaten  in  England, 
and  as  I had  no  authorative  means  of  determining  the 
true  meaning  of  a plain  breakfast  here,  I handed  over 
the  additional  eight  pence,  and  took  my  leave.  Nearly 
or  quite  all  of  my  companions  at  the  table,  partook 
sparingly  of  the  meat,  but,  whether  they  knew,  at  the 
time,  that  they  were  partaking  of  something  superior  to 
a plain  breakfast,  or  learned  it  afterwards,  when  they 
came  to  pay  their  bills,  I did  not  wait  to  ascertain. 

I had  only  a few  moments  to  look  about  Southamp- 
ton, but  in  that  time  I observed  that  some  improve- 
ments were  being  made,  and  that  there  was  a very 
extensive  dock  in  the  course  of  construction.  I left  in 
the  cars,  at  9,  and  reached  the  London  station,  near 
Waterloo  bridge,  about  1 P.  M.,  passing  through  a level, 
highly  cultivated  and  charming  country.  The  growing 
crops  promise,  I should  judge,  a good  harvest.,  and  the 
farmers  are  now  generally,  engaged  in  securing  their 
hay.  The  fences  are,  mostly  hedge,  and  the  hedges, 
I think,  generally  hawthorn.  The  distance  from  South- 


61 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


ampton  to  London  is  80  miles  by  Rail- Way,  and  the 
fare,  in  second  class  cars,  $3.  The  grade  is  very  level, 
and  no  tunnels  are  required,  in  which  respect,  it  differs 
from  the  Rail- Way  between  Havre  and  Paris.  As  in 
France,  so  do  people  here  of  high  respectability,  ride  in 
second  class  cars  ; but  in  England  the  second  class  cars, 
though  very  comfortable,  are  not  cushioned.  In  France 
they  are  cushioned,  but  not  so  richly  as  those  of  the 
first  class.  Both  in  France  and  England,  the  cars  are 
entered  on  the  sides,  and  not  at  the  ends,  as  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  seats  reach  across  them,  like 
those  of  a coach.  The  cars  generally  carry  20  or  25 
persons  each. 

On  reaching  the  Waterloo  station,  in  London,  I pro- 
cured a cab,  and  proceeded  directly  to  Morley’s  Hotel, 
Trafalgar  square.  I found  that  my  friend,  Henry  Ste- 
vens, Jr..  Esq.,  from  Vermont,  was  still  stopping  here, 
but  that,  being  on  one  of  the  juries  for  the  award  of 
prizes  at  the  Great  Exhibition,  he  was,  at  the  time  of 
my  arrival,  employed  on  that  business  at  the  Crystal 
Palace.  He  returned  about  4 o’clock,  and  I was  re- 
ceived by  him  very  cordially,  but  was  sorry  to  learn 
that  no  letters,  directed  to  his  care,  had  been  received 
for  me,  from  my  friends  in  America.  Learning  that 
mails  for  the  United  States  are  made  up  and  forwarded 
from  London,  every  Saturday,  I finished  several  letters, 
which  I had  commenced  in  Paris,  and  committed  them 
to  the  Post*  I find  myself,  this  evening,  very  much 
fatigued,  and  quite  unwell,  with  no  appetite  for  food. 
The  inflammation  of  my  lungs  and  cough,  which  have 

* One  of  these,  to  the  Editor  of  the  Burlington  Free  Press,  was  pub- 
lished in  that  paper  on  the  10th  of  July. 

6* 


62 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS; 


afflicted  me,  since  I took  my  severe  cold  in  Paris,  have 
been  considerably  aggravated  by  the  heat  and  dust,  on 
the  way  from  Southampton  to  London,  and,  I fear  that 
the  smoke  and  dust  of  London  are  not  doing  very  much 
to  improve  them. 

June  28.  Saturday. — Committed,  this  morning,  to 
her  Majesty’s  penny  post,  those  letters,  which  I had 
baought  out  with  me,  and  which  I did  not  expect  to 
deliver,  personally.  At  1 1 o’clock,  went  out  to  call  upon 
the  distinguished  British  Naturalist,  to  whom  I had 
letters  of  introduction  from  my  friends,  Prof.  Aagassiz 
and  Dr.  Storer  of  Boston.  Not  finding  him  at  home  I 
left  my  letters,  packages  and  address.  In  the  after- 
noon I called,  with  like  success,  at  the  Museum  of  the 
Geological  Survey,  with  letters  and  a package  from 
Prof.  Agassiz,  for  Prof.  Forbes,  and,  at  the  British  Mu- 
seum, the  same  for  Mr.  Gray.  They  were  both  away 
at  the  Crystal  Palace  at.  the  time. 

I have  seen,  yet,  only  a very  little  part  of  London — 
scarcely  any  thing  beyond  what  is  immediately  around 
Trafalgar  Square,  upon  which  delightful  place,  I am 
now  looking  down  from  the  windows  of  Morley’s  Ho- 
tel. This  square  measures,  I should  judge,  about  25 
rods  by  15,  and  was  formed  during  the  reign  of 
George  IV,  by  clearing  away  an  irregular  cluster  of  old 
buildings,  and  narrow  streets,  and  alleys.  It  is  now 
surrounded  by  good  buildings,  Morley’s  Hotel  occupy- 
ing the  east  side,  the  National  Gallery  of  Painting  and 
Sculpture  the  north,  the  College  of  Physicians  and  the 
Union  Club  House  the  west,  and  the  Northumber- 
land House  the  south.  At  the  nertheast  corner  of  the 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  63 


square,  stands  the  handsome  church  of  St.  Martin - 
in-the- Fields.  The  whole  square  is  paved  with  large 
slabs  of  Portland  stone,  and  contains  two  fountains, 
which  play  during  the  day  and  evening,  each  being 
surrounded  by  a large  basin,  or  reservoir.  The  north- 
ern part  of  the  square  is  considerably  elevated  above 
the  southern  part,  and  the  descent,  from  the  former  to 
the  latter,  is  by  stone  steps.  On  the  higher  part,  tow- 
ards the  northeastern  corner,  stands  a fine  equestrian 
statue  of  George  IV,  and  it  is  said  that  there  is  to  be 
a corresponding  statue  towards  the  northwestern  corn- 
er. Nearly  midway  in  the  south,  or  lower  side  of  the 
square,  stands 

“A  monumental  pile, 

Designed  for  Nelson  of  the  Nile! 

Of  Trafalgar  and  Vincent’s  heights — 

For  Nelson  of  the  hundred  fights.” 

This  column,  surmounted  by  a statue  of  Nelson,  sur- 
passes any  other  in  London.  Its  total  height  is  176 
feet,  of  which,  the  statue  of  Nelson  makes  18  feet. 
The  column  is  of  granite,  and  fluted.  Upon  the  four 
sides  of  the  square  pedestal,  are  placed,  in  bronze 
baso-relievo,  representations  of  Nelson’s  four  great  bat- 
tles, viz:  St.  Vincent,  Copenhagen,  Nile  and  Trafalgar, 
On  the  south  side  are  the  memorable  words  of  Nelson — 
England  expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty. 

June  29.  Sunday. — Yesterday,  as  I was  in  front 
of  Morley’s,  in  the  midst  of  the  mingled  and  incessant 
noise  and  jar,  and  roar  of  the  city,  sweet  notes  of  music 
struck  clearly  upon  my  ear,  as  if  proceeding  from  a 
hand  organ,  or  some  other  musical  instrument,  very 
near  me.  I looked  around  me,  but  could  not  discover 


64 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


whence  it  came,  and  it  was  some  little  time  before  the 
fact  was  revealed  to  me,  that  these  sweet  tones  pro- 
ceeded from  the  bells  in  the  tower  of  St.  Martiu’s-in- 
the-Field.  This  church  has  an  excellent  chime  of  12 
bells,  and  their  peal  was  continued,  yesterday,  for  an 
hour,  without  intermission.  To  day,  it  commenced 
at  10  A.  M.  and  continued  till  11,  the  time  of  com- 
mencing morning  service.  I learn  from  Leigh’s  Pic- 
ture of  London,  that  Nell  G wynne , who  was  buried 
in  the  yard  of  this  church,  left  a legacy^  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  paying  for  the  ringing  of  its  bells. 

This  church,  being  but  a few  steps  from  Morley’s, 
where  I am  stopping,  I concluded  to  attend  its  servic- 
es, and,  at  11  A.  M.  proceeded  thither.  I made  my 
way  through  the  crowd  into  the  broad  aisle,  but  found 
it,  and  all  the  pews,  completely  filled.  I remained 
standing  in  the  dense  crowd,  till  the  services  were 
about  half  over,  and  then,  wearied  with  standing,  and 
almost  suffocated,  I made  my  way  out,  and  returned 
to  my  room.  In  the  afternoon  I went  there  again  ? 
and  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  a good  seat,  the 
house  being  not  more  than  half  filled.  At  this  time  I 
wasable  to  join,  understandingly,  in  the  services  of  the 
church,  which  I could  not  do  in  the  morning.  The 
sermon  was  not  splendid,  but  good.  This  church  was 
erected  just  125  years  ago,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  best  parish  churches  in  the  Metropolis.  It  is  built 
of  stone,  140  feet  long,  GO  wide,  and,  the  body  of  the 
church,  45  feet  high.  Its  steeple  is  very  lofty  and  im- 
posing, and  contains  a good  clock  and,  as  already 
mentioned,  a chime  of  12  bells.  It  has  a handsome 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  65 

portico  of  eight  Corinthian  columns,  and  is  approach- 
ed by  a long  flight  of  steps.  The  interior  is  very  beau- 
tiful, and  the  organ,  which  was  presented  by  George 
III,  is  regarded  as  very  excellent. 

After  church  service  I took  a long  walk  with  my 
friend,  Stevens.  We  passed  through  St.  James’  Park, 
Green  Park  and  Hyde  Park,  making  a circuit  entirely 
round  the  Crystal  Palace;  so  I have  had  an  outside  view 
of  the  world-famed  structure,  but  have  uot  yet  seen 
the  interior.  ^ We  found  all  the  parks  alive  with  swarms 
of  men,  women  and  children,  gossiping  and  promen- 
ading in  the  open  air.  Being  fatigued  by  our  long 
walk,  we  returned,  in  an  omnibus,  to  Tafalgar  Square; 
and,  being  obliged  to  take  an  outside  seat,  and  the  ev- 
ening air  being  chilly,  I fear  I may  have  added  to  my 
cold,  as  my  lungs  seem  much  inflamed  and  my  cough 
almost  incessant. 

June  30.  Monday. — Went  this  morning,  to  the  Mu- 
seum of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  at  Lincoln’s-Inn- 
Fields,  with  my  letters  aud  package  for  Prof.  Owen, 
and,  not  finding  him  at  his  rooms,  I left  them,  togeth- 
er with  my  card,  and  then  spent  some  time  in  looking 
at  the  articles  in  this  interesting  museum  of  Compara- 
tive Anatomy.  On  my  return  from  the  museum,  I 
called  upon  Mr.  Yarrell,  from  whom  I had  received  a 
note,  but  too  late  for  me  to  accept  the  invitation  it  con- 
veyed to  me,  to  breakfast  with  him  this  morning.  I, 
this  time,  found  him  at  home,  and  he  invited  me  up  to 
his  rooms,  to  look  at  his  collection  of  birds  and  fishes. 
It  is  not  extensive,  but  embraces  a large  proportion  of 
the  British  species,  and  the  specimens  are  very  neatly 


66 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


and  prettily  prepared.  Went,  just  at  night,  and  deliv- 
ered letters  to  Mr.  Markham,  on  Upper  Gower  Street, 
Mr.  Atkinson,  on  Gordon  Square  and  Miss  Whitby,  on 
Queen, s Square. 

July  1.  'Tuesday. — Called  at  No.  11,  Harley  Street, 
with  my  letters  and  package  for  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  and, 
being  informed  that  he  was  away,  left  them,  and  was 
parsing  out  into  the  street,  when  the  servant  called  to 
me  that  he  had  arrived,  and  requested  me  to  walk  into 
the  house  again.  I returned,  where  I met  Sir  Charles, 
who  informed  me  that  he  was  going  down  immediately 
to  Ipswich,  to  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association, 
and,  at  the  close  of  that  meeting,  it  was  his  intention,  to 
go  over  to  the  continent  on  a geological  excursion. 
Fearing  that  my  presence  might  incommode  him,  under 
these  circumstances,  I remained  but  a few  moments, 
and  then  took  my  leave,  expecting  to  see  him  again  at 
Ipswich,  during  the  meeting  of  the  Association.  In  the 
afternoon  f visited  the  House  of  Lords,  in  the  New  Par- 
liament House,  in  which  the  Court  of  Appeals  was 
then  in  session.  It  is  a most  splendid  room,  the  ceiling 
being  gorgeously  gilded,  and  the  seats  cushioned  with 
the  richest  crimson  :4velvet.  There  was  a very  little 
rain  this  morning,  but  the  weather,  during  the  day,  has 
been  hotter  and  more  oppressive  than  I have  felt  it  any 
time  since  I arrived  in  Europe.  My  cough  continues 
very  severe. 

July  2.  Wednesday. — Coughed  badly  this  morning, 
and  raised  some  blood  from  my  lungs,  as  I have  done 
several  times  before,  since  I took  my  severe  cold  in 
Paris.  At  10  o’clock  I entered,  for  the  first  time,  the 
Crystal  Palace.  My  expectations  had  been  raised  pret- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  67 


ty  high,  with  regard  to  this  building,  and  its  contents, 
but  the  reality,  I think,  fully  equals  them.  There  is 
not,  however,  within,  that  sense  of  greatness,  or  vast- 
ness, which  one  is  lead  to  expect  from  seeing  it  on  the 
outside,  and  knowing  its  measurements.  But  this  is, 
probably,  owing  to  the  many  partitions,  and  divisions, 
and  to  the  great  number,  and  magnitude  of  the  articles, 
which  occupy  the  interior.  I first  took  a hasty  look 
through  the  department  occupied  by  the  articles  from 
the  United  States,  which  is  at  the  east  end  of  the 
building,  and  then  passed  along  one  side  of  the  nave 
to  the  west  end,  and  returned  on  the  other  side.  I 
found  the  United  States’  Department,  as  had  been  rep- 
resented, appearing  rather  vacant,  and  yet  I saw  many 
good  things  there.  The  nave  and  transept  contain 
several  beautiful  fountains,  which  are  kept  constantly 
playing,  and  there  are.  arranged  throughout  the  whole 
extent  of  both,  a succession  of  fine  statues  and  other 
choice  specimens  of  sculpture.  Among  these,  connect- 
ed with  the  American  division,  I noticed,  with  satisfac- 
tion, Powers’  Greek  Slave  and  Sanderson’s  Wounded 
Indian.  In  these  fine  specimens  of  art,  Vermont  may 
claim  some  interest,  since  the  sculptor  of  the  former, 
and  the  marble  of  the  latter,  are  both  natives  of  our 
Green  Mountain  State.  Who  ever  thought,  when  they 
saw  Hiram  Powers,  playing  his  boyish  gambols  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ottaquechee,  at  Woodstock-Green,  in 
Windsor  County,  that  in  him  was  that  creative  power, 
which  would,  one  day,  call  forth  from  the  shapeless 
marble,  that  perfection  and  grace  of  form,  attitude  and 
expression,  which  are  exhibited  in  his  Greek  Slave  and 
other  works  ? Certainly,  I did  not.  My  examination 


68 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


of  the  articles  on  exhibition,  have  been  so  hasty  and 
limited,  that  I shall  not  attempt  to  give  particulars  at 
present. 

To-day,  occurred  the  last  Exhibition,  for  the  season, 
ol  Flowers,  at  the  Royal  Botanical  Gardens,  in  Re- 
gents Park.  This  morning,  I received  a note  from  my 
kind  friend,  George  Atkinson,  Esq.,  accompanied  by  a 
Ticket  for  the  Exhibition,  from  Mrs.  Atkinson,  who 
insisted  upon  my  attending,  as  it  would  give  me  a bet- 
ter opportunity  to  see  the  manners,  dress  and  equipage 
of  the  higher  ranks  and  nobility,  than  I might  other- 
wise expect  to  have.  I reached  the  Gardens  about  4 
P.  M.,  where  I spent  something  more  than  an  hour,  as 
pleasantly  as  was  possible,  in  the  existing  state  of  my 
health.  The  display  of  rare  plants  and  gay  flowers, 
was  exceedingly  great — equalled  only  by  the  beauty, 
and  dress,  and  equipage  of  the  wealth  and  aristocracy 
of  London,  here  assembled  to  witness  it.  The  number 
of  persons  at  the  Gardens  was  estimated  at  10,000,  and 
the  number  of  carriages  at  1,500 ; and  these,  nearly  all, 
belonged  to  the  upper  thousands.  The  display  of  richly 
caparisoned  horses,  of  gilded  and  glittering  carriages, 
and  of  liveried  coachmen  and  waiters,  far  exceeded 
any  thing  I had  before  seen.  The  flowers  exhibited, 
were  not  only  very  numerous  and  varied  in  kind,  but 
appeared  remarkably  fresh,  large  and  perfect.  There 
was  an  excellent  band  of  music  in  attendance,  which 
added  much  to  the  animation  and  pleasure  of  the  exhi- 
bition. On  my  return  to  Morley’s,  I found  that  Prof. 
Forbes  had  called  and  left  his  card  for  me;  and  found, 
too,  a note  from  my  Vermont  friend,  W.  F.  Shattuck, 
Esq.,  who  has  been  spending  some  time  in  London. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  63 


July  3.  Thursday. — Wrote  and  sent  off  letters  in  the 
morning,  and  at  12  o’clock  made  my  first  call  on  the 
American  Minister,  the  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  that  be- 
ing the  hour  at  which  he  receives  company.  He  received 
me  very  cordially,  and  offered  to  furnish  me  with  tickets 
to  the  Royal  Observatory,  and  some  other  places,  if  I 
wished  to  visit  them.  On  taking  my  leave,  he  request- 
ed me  to  call  again,  on  my  return  from  Ipswich,  to 
which  place,  I had  told  him,  it  was  my  design  to  pro- 
ceed this  afternoon,  in  order  to  attend,  at  that  place,  the 
meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science. 

Having  returned  to  Morley’s,  I settled  my  bill, 
amounting  to  about  £4  for  six  days,  and,  with  my  trav- 
elling-bag, containing  a few  articles,  proceeded  to  the 
station  of  the  North-Eastern  Rail- Way,  at  Shoreditch, 
which  I reached  in  season  for  the  5 o’clock  train,  and 
proceeded  by  it  to  Ipswich,  68  miles,  where  I arrived 
between  sunset  and  dark.  Understanding  that  the  pub- 
lic houses  were  much  crowded,  on  account  of  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Association,  and  the  visit  of  Prince  Albert  to 
Ipswich,  I took  tea  and  lodging  for  the  night,  at  a pri- 
vate boarding  house,  and  bespoke  a breakfast  in  the 
morning. 

July  4.  Friday.  I arose  this  morning,  quite  early, 
and  finding  none  of  the  people  of  the  house  up,  I walked 
out  to  look  at  the  city,  and,  after  passing  through  a 
number  of  streets,  returned  and  obtained  my  breakfast 
about  8 o’clock.  On  inquiring  the  terms  upon  which  I 
could  have  board  and  lodging  during  my  stay  in  Ips- 
wich, I was  told  that  the  charge  would  be  5s.  a night 
for  room  and  bed,  and  from  Is.  to  35.  a meal,  according 


09 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


to  what  I had.  Regarding  these  charges  as  somewhat 
extravagant,  I paid  for  my  two  meals  and  lodging,  and 
resolved  to  make  inquiries  elsewhere. 

While  at  London,  my  friend,  Mr.  Yarrc.ll,  had  given 
me  a letter  to  George  Ransome,  Esq.,  the  local  Secretary 
of  the  Association  at  Ipswich,  and  I,  therefore,  proceeded 
immediately  to  his  residence,  where  I was  introduced  to 
several  members  of  the  Association,  and  generously  fur- 
nished with  a ticket,  giving  me  free  admission  to  all  the 
meetings.  Before  proceeding  to  the  reception  room, 
however,  I called  upon  Prof.  Forbes,  at  his  boarding 
place,  by  whom  I was  introduced  to  Prof.  Sedgwick, 
Prof.  Phillips,  Prof.  Airy,  and  some  others. 

The  Association,  for  the  reading  of  papers  and  oral 
discussions,  is  divided  into  six  or  seven  sections.  There 
is  a kind  of  informal  general  meeting  at  the  reception 
room  in  the  morning,  and  at  11  o’clock  the  sections  pro- 
ceed to  their  respective  rooms  in  different  parts  of  the 
city,  where  they  usually  continue  in  session  till  4 P.  M. 
Under  these  circumstances,  one  almost  covets  ubiquity, 
to  that  extent,  at  least,  which  would  enable  him  to  be 
present  in  more  than  one  section  at  the  same  time  ; but, 
as  I could  not  hope  this,  I concluded,  from  what  appear- 
ed on  the  programme,  that  I should  be  most  interested 
and  benefitted  by  the  proceedings  of  the  Natural  History 
Section,  D,  and  I attended  it  accordingly. 

The  papers  read,  and  the  subjects  discussed  in  this 
section  were  generally  interesting,  but  the  most  impor- 
portant  paper  was  that  of  Prof.  Forbes,  on  the  geograph- 
ical distribution  of  molluscs.  Just  before  the  reading  of 
this  paper,  there  was  a loud  clapping  at  the  door,  and, 
immediately  afterwards,  eight  or  ten  gentlemen  entered 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  70 


the  hall,  and  were  seated  on  the  right  of  the  chairman. 
One  of  these  was  Prince  Albert.  After  the  reading  of 
the  paper,  they  arose  and  retired.  The  Prince  came 
down  to  Ipswich,  yesterday,  in  the  morning  train.  As 
I came  down  in  the  afternoon,  flags  were  flying  at  all 
the  stations,  and  every  body  was  praising  Prince  Albert. 
Over  the  principal  streets  in  Ipswich,  triumphal  arches, 
formed  of  trees  and  leafy  boughs  and  flowers,  had  been 
erected,  and  splendid  flags,  bearing  mottos  and  devices, 
complimentary  to  the  Prince  and  the  Queen,  were  wav- 
ing over  them. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  Section,  I went  with  the 
multitude,  to  see  the  Prince  use  the  trowel,  in  laying  the 
corner-stone  of  a large  building,  which  is  about  being 
erected  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public  Grammar 
School  of  Ipswich.  The  number  of  spectators  present, 
was  judged  to  be  seven  or  eight  thousand.  After  a few 
ceremonies  and  short  addresses,  a prayer  was  offered  up 
by  the  Rector  and  Head-Master  of  the  School,  and  then 
the  Prince  took  the  trowel,  spread  the  mortar,  and,  the 
8 tone  being  let  down  upon  it,  he  very  gracefully  rapped 
it  down  with  the  handle  of  the  trowel,  adjusted  the  mor- 
tar around  the  edges,  and  that  closed  the  ceremony. 

The  reception  committee  having  kindly  provided  me 
lodgings,  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Greenfield,  2d 
Master  of  the  Grammar  School,  I proceeded  thither,  after 
the  above  ceremonies,  and  found  my  accommodations 
very  comfortable,  and  the  family,  consisting  only  of  Mr. 
G.  and  his  wife,  a newly  married  couple,  to  be  very 
agreeable.  At  8 P.  M.,  I went  to  the  Corn  Exchange, 
to  hear  a public  lecture,  upon  the  line  of  distinction  be- 
tween animals  and  plants,  by  Prof.  Owen;  and  a most 


71 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


interesting  lecture  it  was.  He  pointed  out,  with  admi- 
rable clearness,  the  lines  of  demarkation,  which  h?.ve 
heretofore  been  proposed,  and  showed  that  while  most 
of  them  were  true,  to  a very  considerable  extent,  no  one 
of  them  was  universally  true.  Lumens’  distinction 
was  that, — Minerals  grow  ; Plants  grow  and  live  ; Ani- 
mals grow,  live,  feel  and  move.  This  is  generally  true ; 
and  yet  some  animals  are  rooted  as  firmly  as  plants, 
and  some  marine  plants  have  the  power  of  locomotion, 
and  other  plants  give  as  much  evidence  of  feeling  as 
many  animals.  Again — Plants  exhale  oxygen  and  in- 
hale carbonic  acid;  while  animals  inhale  oxygen,  and 
exhale  carbonic  acid  ; generally  true,  but  not  universally 
so.  Again — Plants  are  composed  of  carbon  and  hydro- 
gen— two  elements;  animals  of  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxy- 
gen and  nitrogen — four  elements ; true  also,  with  regard 
to  most  plants  and  animals,  but  not  to  all.  Once  more 
— Plants  have  no  stomachs,  but  animals  hav^  stomachs, 
in  which  their  food  is  digested  and  prepared  for  their 
nourishment ; this,  again,  is  generally  true,  still,  there 
are  exceptions. 

But  I will  not  here  dwell  upon  the  subject.  The  lec- 
ture was,  on  the  whole,  a very  interesting  and  instruct- 
ive one,  and  his  illustrations  presented  many  new  views 
to  my  mind.  By  tracing  various  plants  and  animals 
through  their  different  stages  of  development,  from  the 
incipient  embryo,  up  to  the  perfect  individual,  he  illus- 
trated the  various  “ interlockings  ” of  the  lower  orders  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  and  thus  showed  the  extreme  diffi- 
culty of  drawing  any  definite  general  line  of  demarka- 
tion between  them.  The  frog,  the  aphis  an i the  medusa, 
were  examples  ef  animals,  whose  developments  were 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


traced.  In  case  of  the  aphis,  and  medusa,  and  some 
others,  he  showed  that  they  produced  animals  unlike 
themselves,  and  that  animals  so  produced,  produced  an- 
imals unlike  themselves,  and  so  on,  through  a consider- 
able circuit,  till  ^t  length  the  original  form  was  repro- 
duced. This  process,  he  proposes  to  call  Metagenesis , 
in  distinction  from  Metamorphosis , in  which,  change  of 
form  arises  chiefly  from  casting  off  extericr  coverings. 

As  the  Association  has  determined  to  spend  to-morrow 
in  scientific  excursions,  in  different  directions,  I concluded 
to  join  the  party,  which  is  to  proceed  down  the  Orwell 
and  along  the  sea-coast,  for  the  purpose  of  looking  at  the 
lied  and  Coralline  Crag,  and  London  Clay  formations, 
and,  for  that  purpose,  I have  taken  a ticket,  for  which  I 
paid  5s. 

July  5.  Saturday. — Having  taken  a ticket  for  the 
excursion  down  the  Orwell,  as  mentioned  yesterday,  I 
went  down  to  the  steam-boat  landing  soon  after  break- 
fast, and  at  9 A.  M.,  our  party,  consisting  of  about  150, 
were  closely  packed  on  the  deck  of  the  little  steamer, 
the  River  Queen,  and  the  paddles  were  put  in  motion. 
This  steamer  is  a small  narrow  boat,  of,  perhaps,  half 
the  tonnage  of  the  old  Winooski,  on  Lake  Champlafti. 
W e were,  consequently,  all  very  near  neighbors.  The 
tide  was  out,  and  the  water  confined  to  the  channel 
of  the  river,  which  is  very  narrow  and  very  crooked, 
and  hence,  its  navigation  must  require  much  care  and 
experience,  when  the  tide  is  in  and  the  banks  concealed, 
on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  channel.  The 
river  now  appears  no  wider  than  our  Winooski,  below 
the  lower  falls.  When  the  tide  is  in,  it  is,  generally, 
half  a mile,  or  more,  wide.  More  than  half  the  passen- 
7* 


73 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


gers  were  obliged  to  stand,  there  being  no  places  for 
them  to  sit  down,  and  they  stood  so  thick  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  get  from  one  part  of  the  deck  to  an- 
other. As  we  proceeded  down  the  Orwell,  I saw  th?t 
Sun-fishes,  or  Medusa,  were  very  numerous  and  very 
beautiful.  Sometimes,  three  or  four  could  be  seen  moving 
gracefully  through  the  water,  by  their  contractions  and 
expansions.  Herons,  ducks,  and  various  kinds  of  water - 
fowls,  were  quite  numerous  along  the  flats,  which  were 
left  bare  by  the  ebbing  of  the  tide,  which  has  here  a 
sweep  of  rise  and  fall,  as  I am  told,  of  sixteen  feet.  On 
our  way  down  the  river,  Prof.  Phillips  mounted  the 
rostrum,  (that  is,  the  bulkhead  over  the  gang-way,)  and 
gave  us  a very  interesting  lecture,  on  the  geological 
character  of  the  localities  we  were  about  visiting,  and  to 
me  it  was  very  opportune,  as  it  enabled  me  to  learn,  and 
enjoy,  much  more  of  the  things  I was  about  to  see,  than 
I otherwise  could  have  done.  After  dwelling  for  some 
time  upon  the  general  Geology  of  this  part  of  England, 
and  giving  some  account  of  the  three  principal  deposits, 
lying  above  the  chalk  formation,  viz:  the  London  clay, 
the  Coralline  crag  and  the  Red  crag,  he  eaid  he  would 
suspend  his  remarks,  till  he  came  in  sight  of  the  crag 
and  clay,  along  the  coast.  At  Harwich,  which  is  an 
ancient  town  of  considerable  size,  lying  at  the  mouth  cf 
the  Orwell,  twelve  miles  from  Ipswich,  several  of  the 
passengers  landed,  for  the  purpose  of  accepting  an  invi- 
tation, which  had  been  extended  to  the  members  Gf  the 
Association,  from  that  neighborhood. 

Leaving  Harwich,  wg  proceeded  out  to  sea,  and  along 
the  coast,  toward  the  north.  The  shore  gradually  be- 
came more  elevated  as  we  advanced,  and  at  Felixstow, 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  74 


consisted  of  a narrow  gravelly  beach,  back  of  which  ? 
the  clay  and  crag  rose  precipitously,  30  or  40  feet.  There 
having  been  some  deep  cutting  made  recently,  in  this 
neighborhood,  some  30,  or  35,  of  the  party  landed  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  the  geological  structure  more  mi- 
nutely. I felt  quite  desirous  of  being  one  of  the  num- 
ber, but,  as  it  would  be  necessary  to  walk  some  four  or 
five  miles,  or  more,  in  order  to  be  taken  on  board,  on 
the  return  of  the  boat,  and,  as  I felt  too  unwell  to  think 
it  prudent  to  undertake  it,  I continued  on  board.  The 
crag,  as  it  showed  itself  in  the  bank,  along  the  shore, 
appeared,  generally,  about  12  or  15  feet  thick,  and  the 
London  clay,  some  part  of  the  way,  showed  an  equal 
thickness  below.  Between  Felixstow  and  Bawdsey- 
Ferry,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Deben,  are  the  remains, 
of  a Roman  burial  ground  and  some  old  Roman  works 
which  have  been  exposed  by  the  inroads  of  the  ocean. 
The  ocean,  all  along  this  coast,  is  wearing  it  away;  and 
it  is  this  action  of  the  ocGan,  which  causes  the  abrupt- 
ness of  the  shore,  and  exposes  the  edges  of  th?  crag  and 
clay  formations.  The  materials  of  the  wear,  are  all 
drifted  southward,  and  are  found  to  be  rapidly  accumu- 
lating, in  several  places.  Quite  extensive  tracts  have 
been  worn  away,  along  this  coast,  within  the  historic 
period,  and  places,  which  were  formerly  accessable  with 
large  ships,  can  now  be  approached  only  by  light  craft, 
on  account  of  the  shallowness  of  the  water. 

At  Bawdsey-Ferry,  some  more  of  our  party  went  on 
shore,  to  remain  till  our  return,  but  a majority  still  re- 
mained on  board,  and  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Rams- 
holt,  where  the  boat  was  moored.  After  partaking  of 
the  excellent  refreshments,  which  had  been  provided  for 


75 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


the  occasion,  the  whole  party  went  on  shore,  and  spent 
about  an  hour  in  clambering  among  the  Crag-cliffs, 
examining  the  arrangement  of  the  different  deposits,  and 
collecting  specimens.  The  specimens  found  in  the  crag, 
are  very  interesting,  consisting  of  a great  variety  of 
shells  of  molluscs,  fragments  of  the  bones  of  whales  and 
land  quadrupeds,  the  teeth  of  sharks,  echinoderms  and 
corals  of  different  kinds.  There  are,  also,  layers  of  ma- 
terials, in  some  places  quite  abundant,  which  consist  of 
rounded,  cylindrical,  ovoid  masses,  varying  from  one  to 
five  or  six  inches  in  length,  and  from  half  an  inch  to 
two  inches  in  diameter.  These  little  masses  are  found, 
on  analysis  to  consist  of  from  50  to  75  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phate of  lime;  and,  the  phosphate  of  lime  being  a great 
fertilizer  of  soils,  these  are  sought  after  with  great  avidity, 
to  be  applied  to  lands,  as  a manure  ; and  1 was  told  that, 
not  less  than  a thousand  tons  are  collected,  annually,  in 
this  neighborhood.  These  little  masses  have  acquired 
the"name  of  Coproliles , and  are  regarded  as  a kind  of 
native  Guano;  but  the  name  of  Coprolite,  as  a general 
name  for  them,  is  thought,  by  many  naturalists,  to  be 
here  misapplied.  Some  few  of  the  masses  have  the  spiral 
structure,  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Coprolite,  and 
may  be  such,  but,  for  myself,  I must  say  that,  I think 
the  proportion  of  true  Coprolites  among  them,  is  quite 
small.  I am  disposed  to  regard  them  simply  as  concre- 
tions, which  have  been  aggregated,  in  the  same  manner, 
as  we  see  them  formed  in  the  clay-beds  along  the  shores 
of  Lake  Champlain.  That  the  phosphate  of  lime,  which 
forms  the  principal  part  of  these  concretions,  has  been 
derived  from  the  disintegration  of  animal  bones,  is  very 
probable ; but  that  all  these  rounded  masses,  or  even  a 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  70 


large  part  of  them,  have  passed  through  the  stomachs, 
and  received  their  form  in  the  intestines  of  animated 
beings,  is,  certainly,  not  generally  indicated  in  their 
structure.  Indeed,  the  arrangement  of  their  materials, 
indicates,  in  many  cases,  a very  different  origin.  I 
broke  and  examined  the  structure  of  a great  number  of 
them,  and,  in  very  many  cases,  I found  these  cylindri- 
cal, ovoid  masses,  to  be  composed  of  concentric  layers, 
formed  around  a capillary  cavity,  extending  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  longest  diameter  of  the  mass,  precisely  in 
the  same  manner,  as  we  see  them  arranged  in  the  con- 
cretions of  our  own  brown  clay.  I mentioned  my  view 
of  their  concretionary  character,  to  Prof.  Phillips,  and 
found  that  he  was  inclined  to  the  same  opinion. 

On  our  way  back  from  Ramsholt,  we  had  several 
very  interesting  lectures,  in  relation  to  the  objects 
which  we  had  seen,  and  which  lie  along  the  the  line 
of  our  excursion.  The  chief  speakers  were,  Profes- 
sors Phillips,  Forbes,  Sedgwick  and  Owen.  Prof. 
Phillips  is  the  most  fluent  speaker  of  the  four,  but 
they  all  spoke  well,  and  to  the  purpose.  Though 
speaking,  for  the  most  part,  of  realities  and  facts,  they 
did  not  fail,  occasionally,  to  give  zest  to  their  speeches, 
by  the  intermingling  of  a little  humor  and  anecdote, 
and  occasionally  to  draw  a fancy  sketch,  which  would 
produce  a universal  burst  of  applause.  Prof.  Sedg- 
wick drew  one  of  these,  which  I would  like  to  have 
been  phonographer  enough  to  have  taken  down  in 
short  hand.  It  was  in  relation  to  the  origin  and  char- 
acter of  the  green  sand,  London  clay,  and  crag  forma- 
tions ; but  I shall  make  no  attempt  to  repeat  it.  I 
will,  however,  say  this  much  ; — from  the  character  of 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


the  fossil  bones,  and  other  remains,  he  inferred  that, 
at  one  period,  turtles  were  exceedingly  abundant ; and 
that,  if  turtle  abounded,  there  must  be  large  cities, 
in  which  aldermen  abounded,  to  eat  them.  He  also 
attributed  the  color  of  the  green  sand  formation,  to 
the  green  coloring  matter  of  the  green  fat  of  the  tur- 
tles; and  he  might  have,  also,  inferred  that,  the  so- 
called  caprolites,  were  formed  from  the  phosphate  of 
lime,  derived  from  the  bones  and  shells  of  the  turtles. 
Prof.  Owen  stated,  that  one  of  the  shells  of  Molluscs, 
found  in  the  red  crag,  had  given  name  to  a whole 
race  of  men — the  Hottentots,  of  South  Africa,  Hot- 
tentot being  the  Dutch  name  of  a shell,  and  signify- 
ing that  it  is  left-handed.  But,  whether  the  Hotten- 
tots are  generally  left-handed,  or  not,  he  did  not  inform 
us.  He,  however,  said  that,  while  the  fossil  shells  of 
this  species  were,  generally,  heterostroph,  their  de- 
scendants had  somehow  or  other  righted,  or  reversed 
themselves,  and  were  now,  nearly  all,  right-handed. 
He  further  stated,  that  from  the  fossil  bones  and  teeth, 
obtained  from  the  crag,  he  had  been  able  to  make  out 
seventeen  distinct  species  of  quadrupeds.  Among 
these,  were  a rhinoceros  and  several  kinds  of  deer. 
Shark's  teeth  abound  in  the  crag,  some  of  which, 
judging  from  the  proportion  which  the  teeth  of  the 
living  species  pf  sharks  bear  to  the  animals,  must  have 
been  about  60  feet  in  length.  Prof.  Forbes,  also,  made 
some  very  interesting  remarks,  respecting  the  crag  and 
clay  formations. 

Although  the  ships  employed  about  Harwich  are 
generally  small,  their  number  must  be  very  great. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


78 


While  on  the  ocean,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Harwich, 
I coanted  97  vessels,  of  various  kinds,  all  of  which 
were  in  sight  at  the  same  time.  A large  part  of  the 
shipping,  I was  told,  is  employed  in  raising  from  the 
bottom  of  the  shallow  sea  a deposit,  which,  when  car- 
ried away  and  properly  prepared,  is  used  for  cement, 
or  water  lime.  We  arrived  at  Ipswich,  about  6 P.  M., 
after  a day,  in  which  I have  learned  very  much  of 
things  concerning  which,  I knew  very  little  before — 
a day  in  which  I have  had  nothing  to  mar  my  enjoy- 
ment, but  the  want  of  good  headth.  My  cough  has 
been  exceedingly  troublesome,  and  I have  suffered 
considerable  from  pain  in  my  side  and  chest ; and  the 
occasional  coughing  up  of  a little  blood,  has  not  serv- 
ed to  stimulate  me  to  very  great  exertion,  in  climbing 
the  crag  banks,  nor  has  it  served  to  give  much  buoy- 
ancy to  my  spirits  ; still,  I have  enjoyed  much,  and 
learned  some  things,  although  I hare,  at  the  same 
time,  suffered.  Joy  and  pain,  so  far  as  concerned  my- 
self, have  been  very  closely  associated,  during  the 
day.  Neither  of  them  has,  at  any  time,  been  very 
far  off. 

July  6.  Sunday. — Attended  Divine  service,  fore- 
noon and  afternoon,  at  the  nearest  parish  church,  and 
heard  two  excellent  sermons  from  two  different  cler- 
gymen ; but  I have  not  learned  the  name  of  the  church, 
or  of  either  of  the  preachers.  The  forenoon’s  ser- 
mon was  on  Pilate’s  interrogative,  “ What  is  truth?” 
and  that  in  the  afternoon,  on  the  11th  verse  of  the 
3d  chapter  of  the  2d  Epistle  of  Peter — “ Seeing  that 
all  these  things  shall  he  dissolved &c.  Both  the 


7a 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


discourses  were  very  well  written,  and  the  emphasis 
and  intonations  of  the  speakers  were  good  ; but  there 
was  no  gesticulation,  excepting  a nod  of  the  head. 
Neither  of  them  raised  his  hand  from  the  cushion, 
during  the  discourse.  Both  the  preachers  made  very 
particular  reference  to  the  meeting  of  the  British  As- 
sociation, now  in  session  here ; and  both  discoursed 
very  properly  upon  the  relation  and  correspondence  of 
the  book  of  nature  with  the  book  of  revelation — of 
the  harmony  of  religion  with  true  science. 

July  7.  Monday . — This  morning,  after  breakfast, 
I proceeded  to  the  reception-room,  where  I cbtained 
a programme  of  the  proceedings  for  the  day  ; and, 
judging  from  the  titles  of  the  papers  to  be  read,  that 
1 should  derive  most  benefit  from  attendance  in  the 
geological  section,  I proceeded  to  their  room.  Papers 
were  read  before  this  section,  by  Messrs  Owen,  Bow- 
erbank,  Forbes,  Lyell  and  Logan.  Mr.  Bowerbank’s 
related  to  the  fossils  of  the  London  clay  and  the  crag, 
and  he  exhibited  shark’s  teeth  from  those  formations, 
and  from  existing  species,  and,  also,  drawings,  for  the 
purpose  of  comparison.  He  stated,  that  the  largest 
living  species  was  found  in  the  East  Indies,  and  that 
it  sometimes  obtained  the  enormous  length  of  37  feet. 
He  exhibited  some  of  the  teeth  of  this  large  shark, 
with  a drawing  of  its  head  and  jaws,  and  also  some 
of  the  fossil  teeth  found  in  the  crag,  with  an  ideal 
outline  of  a corresponding  head,  and  showed  that,  if 
we  may  judge  of  the  size  of  the  ancient  shark,  from 
the  size  of  its  teeth,  as  compared  with  the  living  spe- 
cies, we  must  conclude  that  it  was  about  65  feet  long. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


81 


The  name,  given  to  this  fossil  species,  is  Carcaris 
megaladon.  We  can  conceive,  that  it  would  hardly 
be  necessary  for  such  a shark,  to  make  two  bites  in 
devouring  a man.  The  papers  of  Prof.  Forbes  and 
Sir  Charles  Lyell,  both  related  to  the  fossils  of  the 
crag.  Mr.  Logan’s  paper  related  to  the  geology  of 
Canada,  and  particularly  to  the  copper-beaming  rocks 
of  Lake  Huron.  He  exhibited  before  the  section,  a 
slab  of  sandstone,  on  which  the  foot-prints  of  a rep- 
tile, probably  a tortoise,  were  distinctly  impressed, 
and,  also,  a cast  of  another  slab,  some  7 or  8 feet  long, 
on  which  similar  tracks  were  shown,  throughout  its 
whole  length.  From  its  position,  in  reference  to  the 
well-known  rocks  in  the  neighborhood,  Mr.  Logan 
regards  this  sandstone,  in  which  the  tracks  are  found, 
as  the  Pottsdam  sandstone  of  the  New  York  geolo- 
gists, which  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  Silurian  series,  or 
the  oldest  known  fossiliferous  rock.  If  this  be  so,  it 
proves  that  vertebrated  animals  existed  at  the  very 
earliest  period,  in  which  we  find  any  proof  of  the  ex- 
istence of  either  animal  or  vegetable  life.  In  the 
evening,  Prof.  Airy,  the  Astronomer  Royal,  gave,  at 
the  Corn  Exchange,  a very  interesting  lecture  upon 
the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  is  to  occur  on  the 
28th  inst.  He  illustrated  the  subject  of  solar  eclipses 
very  fully,  by  apparatus  and  diagrams,  and  gave  a par- 
ticular account  of  some  inhiresting  phenomena,  ex- 
hibited to  different  observers,  of  the  eclipse  of  1842. 
His  lecture  occupied  1J  hour. 

July  8.  Tuesday. — After  breakfast,  went  to  the 
8 


S2 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


reception-room,  and  not  finding  on  the  programme 
any  papers  announced  in  which  I felt  very  deeply  in- 
terested, and  learning  that  this  was  the  last  day  of  the 
session  of  the  Association,  I concluded  to  return  to 
London.  I accordingly  took  the  train,  which  left 
Ipswich  at  half-past  9 A.  M.,  and  arrived  in  London 
about  1 P.  M.  The  country  between  Ipswich  and 
London  is  very  delightful,  being  slightly  undulating, 
and  well  cultivated.  The  soil,  I should  think,  was 
not  naturally  very  strong,  or  rich  : it  appears,  how- 
ever, to  be  made,  by  artificial  means,  quite  productive. 
The  subsoil  seems,  in  most  places,  to  consist  of  flint 
pebbles. 

The  city  of  Ipswich  has  quite  an  ancient  appear- 
ance, and  contains  a considerable  number  of  old 
churches.  Excepting  at  the  corners,  which  are  of 
brick,  or  hammered  stone,  these  churches  are,  for  the 
most  part,  built  of  nodules  of  flint,  which  have  been 
derived  from  the  chalk  formation,  and  which  give  the 
buildings  a very  singular  appearance.  The  nodules 
are  laid  in  mortar,  which  is  almost  as  hard  as  stone. 
The  outsides  of  the  walls  are  generally  composed  of 
halves  of  spherical  nodules,  which  have  been  broken 
in  the  middle  into  two  parts.  The  flat  surface  of  the 
section  is  placed  outward, 'forming  the  surface  of  the 
wall  of  the  building  ; and,  as  these  flints  are  of  all 
shades,  from  perfect  black  to  white,  the  exterior  ©f 
the  churches  appear  to  be  covered  with  circles  of  dif- 
ferent colors,  and  generally  about  three  or  four  inches 
in  diameter.  In  some  cases,  regard  is  had  to  the  ar- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  S3 


rangement  of  the  different  shades  of  color;  but,  gen- 
erally, they  are  placed  promiscuously,  without  any 
regard  to  order.  Ipswich  appears  to  be  a place  of  con- 
siderable business,  but  the  streets  here  are  very  still 
and  quiet  compared  with  London.  There  is  consid- 
erable shipping  on  the  Orwell,  but  the  craft  is  mostly 
small.  There  is  not  sufficient  depth  of  water  for 
large  vessels,  excepting  at  high  tide,  and  then  only 
along  a narrow  channel.  There  are  very  few  elegant 
buildings  in  Ipswich,  but  the  city  has  a population 
of  about  35,000. 

On  my  arrival  in  London,  I was  very  much  grati- 
fied in  finding  letters  from  my  wife  and  children,  da- 
ted about  three  weeks  after  my  departure  from  Bur- 
lington : but  I was  sorry  to  learn  that,  like  myself, 
my  dear  wife  was  suffering  from  an  inflamation  of  the 
lungs,  and  hope  that,  ere  this,  she  has  recovered  from 
it.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  I called  upon  Mr. 
Markham,  to  whom  I had  brought  letters,  from  Mr. 
Whitby,  of  Burlington;  and  he  aided  me  in  procuring 
lodgings,  where  I now  am,  and  where,  I think,  I shall 
get  along  quite  as  comfortably,  and  at  much  less  ex- 
pense, than  at  any  of  the  large  hotels.  And,  besides 
the  saving  of  expense,  which  with  me  is  not  a trifling 
consideration,  I expect  to  derive  several  advantages 
from  my  present  location.  I shall  be  where  the 
streets  are  broad  and  clean,  and,  comparatively,  out  of 
the  noise,  and  smoke,  and  dust  • which  last,  I think  of 
considerable  importance,  in  the  present  condition  of 
my  lungs.  And,  besides,  I shall  be  as  near  the  Crys- 


84 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


tal  Palace,  as  I was  at  Moiley’s  ; not  more  than  half 
so  far  from  the  Zoological  Gardens,  and  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  British  Museum.  My  number 
is  23,  Euston  Place. 

July  9.  Wednesday. — My  new  lodgings,  though  not 

furnished  in  the  most  elegant  or  sumptuous  manner,  I 
find  to  be  quiet  and  comfortable,  and,  as  to  other  things, 
it  matters  little,  as  I can  hardly  expect  either  the  Queen, 
or  Prince  Albert,  will  call  upon  me  here.  This  morning, 
took  over  the  bones  of  my  fossil  whale,  to  the  Museum 
of  Practical  Geology,  and,  with  Prof.  Forbes,  compared 
them  with  the  vertebrae  of  a cetacean,  obtained  by  Mr. 
Logan,  from  the  Laurentian  clay,  at  Montreal.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  his  and  mine  belong  to  the  same 
species.  His  fossils  consist  only  of  vertebrae,  and,  be- 
tween them,  and  the  corresponding  vertebrae  in  my 
specimen,  no  important  difference  could  be  discovered. 
I then,  by  advice  of  Prof.  Forbes,  took  the  fossils  over 
to  the  Museum  of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  at  Lincoln’s 
Inn-Fields,  in  order  to  submit  them  to  Prof.  Owen  ; but, 
as  Mr.  O.  was  out,  I left  the  bones,  and  intend  calling 
again,  to-morrow.  From  this  interesting  Museum  of 
Comparative  Anatomy,  after  spending  some  little  tims 
in  looking  about,  I went  to  the  National  Gallery  of 
Painting  and  Sculpture,  on  Trafalgar  Square.  I was 
much  impressed  by  some  of  the  pieces  of  Raffaelle, 
Guido  and  Rubens.  The  works  of  these  three  artists 
are  generally  excellent,  but  they  are  quite  unlike.  Ru- 
bens’ pieces  are  distinguished  for  their  bright  colors,  and 
particularly  for  the  use  of  red,  which  might  lead  one  to 
suppose  that  the  name,  Rubens,  was  derived  from  that 
circumstance.  The  picture,  which  produced  the  deep 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  85 


est  impression  on  me,  was  Raffaelle’s  “Murder  of  the 
Innocents.”  It  seemed  as  if  the  whole  scene  was  passing 
before  my  eyes— as  if  I could  see  the  agonizing  struggles, 
and  hear  the  shrieks  of  the  despairing  mothers,  as  they 
clung,  with  desperate  energy,  to  their  babes — as  if  I 
could  see  the  convulsions  and  distortions,  and  hear  the 
screams  of  the  frightened  and  suffering  and  bleeding 
children,  as  the  fierce  and  cruel  executioners  of  Herod 
were  tearing  the  little  innocents  from  the  arms  of  their 
mothers,  and  murdering  them  before  their  eyes.  There 
seems  to  be  reality  and  truth  in  the  whole  scene,  and,  in 
spite  of  me,  it  drew  tears  from  my  eyes.  There  are  por- 
tions of  a picture,  by  Rubens,  called  “ Peace  and  War,” 
which  are  exceedingly  life-like  and  touching.  Among 
the  Statuary  and  modern  Paintings,  there  are  many 
of  great  skill  and  excellence.  But  I profess  to  be  no 
connoiseur  in  the  fine  arts,  and  shall  not  attempt  to  par- 
ticularize beauties  or  defects. 

This  evening,  the  City  Corporation  give  a grand  ball 
to  the  Queen.  Only  the  nobility  and  most  distinguish- 
ed personages,  are  invited,  and  yet,  my  friend  Stevens 
had  an  invitation,  and  is  there.  He  associates,  here, 
with  the  best  classes  and  highest  ranks  of  society.  He 
probably  received  his  invitation,  in  this  case,  in  conse- 
quence of  being  one  of  the  Jurors,  for  awarding  prizes 
and  medals,  at  the  Great  Exhibition.  The  ball  takes 
place  at  Guildhall,  which  is  in,  what  is  called,  the  city, 
in  distinction  from  the  town  or  metropolis ; and  as  the 
Queen  resides  in  Buckingham  Palace,  in  St.  James’ 
Park,  Trafalgar  Square  is  between  the  two,  and  being 
there  a little  after  8 o’clock,  and,  observing  the  streets 
to  be  densely  lined  with  spectators,  on  both  sides, 


86 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


watching  the  opportunity  to  see  the  Queen  pass,  I min- 
gled with  them,  thinking  I might  be  allowed  the  privi- 
lege of  a cat,  which  may  look  upon  a King.  After 
waiting  till  nearly  9,  the  retinue  passed  along,  in  the 
midst  of  which  was  a carriage  more  splendidly  gilded 
than  the  rest,  carrying  the  Queen  and  royal  consort.  I 
saw  just  enough  to  enable  me  to  say,  that  I have  seen 
Her  Majesty,  and  that  is  all.  On  account  of  the  dark- 
ness and  obscurity  in  which  she  was  involved,  in  her 
carriage,  at  this  time  in  the  evening,  I could  obtain  no 
better  knowledge  of  her  countenance,  or  features,  than 
I should  obtain  of  a Turkish  beauty,  whom  I should 
meet  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople,  and  who  did 
raise  her  veil.  But  I saw  as  much  as  thousands  of 
others  did,  who  went  home,  exulting  that  they  had 
seen  the  Queen.  The  card  which  Mr.  Stevens  received, 
was  a very  splendid  thing ; and  it  was  accompanied  by 
full  directions  in  regard  to  the  dress,  which  was  to  be 
worn.  Every  gentleman  must  wear  a white  cravat, 
and  no  lady  could  be  admitted  in  a black  gown.  The 
gates  were  to  be  closed  as  soon  as  Her  Majesty  arrived, 
and  none  of  the  company  could  leave  till  she  retired. 

July  10.  Thursday. — Called  at  Morley’s  in  the 

morning,  where  I met  my  friend,  J.  Howard,  Esq.,  of  the 
Irving  House,  New  York,  and  who  informed  me  that  he 
expected  to  go  home  in  the  Atlantic,  which  was  to  leave 
Liverpool  on  the  23d  inst.  Also,  saw  my  friend,  Stevens, 
who  gave  me  some  acsount  of  the  last  night’s  ball. 
From  Morley’s  I went  to  the  Museum  of  the  College  of 
Surgeons,  where,  with  Prof.  Owen,  I compared  my  fos- 
sil bones  with  those  of  the  arctic  living  species,  the  Be- 
luga leucas.  There  was  not  a perfect  agreement,  but 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  87 


the  differences  were  not  sufficient,  in  the  opinion  of 
Prof.  Owen,  to  justify  the  formation,  from  it,  of  a new 
species.  He  was  not  willing  to  pronounce  a positive 
opinion,  but  I have  little  doubt  that  he  regarded  it  as 
identical  in  species,  with  the  living  Beluga  leucas.  It 
appeared  to  me  to  agree  as  nearly  with  almost  any  one 
of  the  heads  of  the  living  species,  above  named,  as  they 
agreed  among  themselves.  The  number  of  teeth  in  them 
is  not  uniform.  On  my  way  to  my  room,  I was  caught 
in  a shower,  and  not  having  my  umbrella,  got  consider- 
ably wet.  Between  3 and  4 we  had  another  smart 
thunder  shower. 

July  11.  Friday. — Called  at  Morley’s  this  morning, 
and  found  there  a note  from  Mrs.  Atkinson,  inviting  me 
to  take  coffee  with  them  at  9 o’clock,  P.  M.,  but  on  ex- 
amination found  it  to  be  dated  July  9th — two  days  ago. 
From  Morley’s,  I passed  down  by  Wesminster  Abbey, 
and  took  a stroll  around  Millbank  Penitentiary,  and  a 
look  at  its  exterior  ; and,  it  may  be  thought,  I was  very 
fortunate,  that  I did  not  get  in,  to  examine  its  interior.  I 
learn  from  the  books  that,  this  is  the  largest  penal  estab- 
lishment in  England,  and  its  exterior  shows  it  to  be  of 
vast  extent.  It  consists  of  six  pentagonal  buildings,  sur- 
rounded by  a lofty  octagonal  brick  wall,  inclosing  an 
area  of  sixteen  acres.  Six  acres  of  this  space  are  occu- 
pied by  the  buildings  and  yards,  and  nine  acres  are  laid 
out  as  a garden.  The  Penitentiary  contains  1200  sepa- 
rate cells,  lofty  and  well  aired,  which  are  12  fset  long 
and  6 wide.  The  corridors,  in  which  the  cells  are  situ- 
ated, are  more  than  three  miles  in  length.  The  whole 
cost  was  £500,000. 

From  the  Penitentiary,  I proceeded,  by  way  of  West- 


88 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


minster  bridge,  to  Lambeth  Palace,  for  the  purpose  of 
delivering  the  letter  kindly  furnished  me  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Hopkins,  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  I 
found  the  Archbishop  at  home,  and  alone  in  his  study, 
and  had  a very  agreeable  interview  with  His  Grace. 
He  was  very  plain  in  his  appearance  and  dress,  and  in 
conversation,  very  free  and  affable.  He  seemed  gratified 
with  the  line  from  Bishop  Hopkins,  and  to  remember 
with  pleasure,  his  former  acquaintance  and  interviews 
with  him.  Lambeth  Palace  and  gardens  occupy,  I un- 
derstand, about  ten  acres,  which  are  surrounded,  ex- 
cepting on  a portion  of  the  side  next  the  river,  by  a 
massive  brick  wall,  about  15  feet  high.  There  is  noth- 
ing imposing  or  beautiful  in  the  exterior,  but  viewed 
within  the  yard,  some  of  the  buildings  make  a very  fine 
appearance.  The  old  Chapel  here,  was  erected  by 
Archbishop  Boniface,  in  the  13th  century,  and  is  the 
oldest  part  of  the  structure.  A new  Gothic  wing  was 
added,  only  a few  years  since,  by  the  late  Dr.  Howley, 
and  there  appears,  at  the  present  time,  to  be  a beautiful 
little  Gothic  chapel  in  process  of  erection.  There  is  said 
to  be  here,  a large  and  excellent  library,  and  many  fine 
portraits  of  Archbishops  and  others ; but  as  I spent  but 
little  time  in  looking  about,  I will  attempt  no  further 
descriptions.  From  Lambeth,  I returned  to  my  lodg- 
ings, and  rested  my  weary  limbs,  by  writing  to  my  wife 
and  children,  in  order  that  my  letter  may  go  out  by  to- 
morrow’s Mail-Steamer.  After  finishing  my  letter,  and 
depositing  it  in  the  Post-Office,  I called  at  Mr.  Atkin- 
son’s, where  I remained  and  took  coffee,  and  where  I 
met  several  Americans.  The  coffee  was  prepared  upon 
the  table,  by  means  of  a very  ingenious  apparatus,  heat- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  89 


ed  by  a spirit-lamp.  Mr.  Atkinson’s  residence,  at  37, 
Gordon  Square,  I find  to  be  very  near  my  own  lodgings, 
in  Euston  Place. 

July  12.  Saturday. — Have  spent  most  of  this  day 
in  the  Zoological  Gardens,  and  have  seen  very  much 
more  than  I can  either  describe  or  remember.  They 
are  situated  in  Regent’s  Park,  and  were  opened  to  the 
public  in  1828.  They  occupy  some  ten  or  a dozen 
acres  of  the  north  end  of  the  Park,  and  are  very  taste- 
fully laid  out ; and  the  localities,  and  circumstances, 
and  arrangements,  are  all  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
habitat  of  the  various  animals.  There  is  a kind  of 
creek  for  the  water-fowls,  with  its  margin  lined  with 
bushes,  and  weeds,  and  grass.  Basins,  or  ponds  of 
water,  for  the  white  bears,  the  seals,  the  hippopotamus, 
the  otters,  &c.,  and’paddocks,  and  kennels,  and  avia- 
ries, and  apartments,  which  can  be  suitably  warmed 
for  the  various  animals  of  tropical  climates.  There 
are,  in  the  whole,  no  less  than  sixty-six  houses  and 
general  divisions,  appropriated  to  the  different  kinds 
of  animals. 

The  individuals,  in  which  I was  most  interested, 
were  the  female  elephant  and  calf,  the  giraffes,  and 
the  hippopotamus.  What  attracted  my  particular  at- 
tention, in  relation  to  the  elephants,  was  the  nursing 
of  the  young  one.  The  mammce  and  teats  being 
situated  between  the  fore  legs,  the  calf  would,  when 
it  wished  to  suck,  advance  along  the  side  of  its  mother, 
feeling  with  its  little  trunk  under  her  belly,  till  it  found 
one  of  the  two  nipples.  Then,  keeping  the  end  of 
the  trunk  upon  the  nipple,  it  advanced  its  head  for- 


90 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


ward  till  it  could  take  the  nipple  in  its  mouth.  As  it 
proceeded  in  sucking,  it  kept  the  end  of  its  trunk 
moving  about  and  pressing  upon  the  mamma , pre- 
cisely as  the  little  infant,  while  nursing,  moves  and 
presses  one  of  its  hands  on  the  breast  of  its  mother. 
The  young  elephant  was  about  the  size  of  the  calf  of 
the  cow,  when  a year  old,  but  I was  so  stupid  that  I 
did  not  inquire  its  age. 

There  are  four  of  the  giraffes.  They  were,  some 
of  them,  eating  hay,  or  provender,  out  of  their  racks, 
which  were  situated  about  twelve  feet  from  the  floor. 
The  head  of  the  largest,  when  it  stood  in  its  upright 
natural  position,  I should  judge  to  be  sixteen  feet 
above  the  floor.  Their  eyes  bespoke  a mild  disposi- 
tion, like  that  of  the  camel  and  the  sheep. 

But,  the  object  of  most  interest  to  me,  and  the  one 
which  I found  to  be  the  great  object  of  attraction,  to 
a majority  of  those  who  visited  the  Gardens,  was  the 
hippopotamus,  which  is  the  first  animal  of  the  kind 
ever  exhibited  alive  in  England.  I found  it  confined 
in  a yard — perhaps  four  rods  square — with  a pond,  or 
basin,  of  water  in  the  centre,  about  two  rods  across, 
and  the  inclosure  was  surrounded  by  two  or  three 
hundred  spectators.  The  hippopotamus  was  lying  on 
the  platform  by  the  side  of  the  pond,  with  its  eyes 
closed,  and  apparently  asleep.  The  Nubian  keeper 
soon  after  roused  him  from  his  slumbers,  and  drove 
him  into  the  water.  He  waded  as  long  as  he  could 
touch  bottom,  and  then  swam  lazily  across,  and  crawl- 
ed partly  out  on  the  other  side ; but  he  was  driven  back 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  91 


again  into  the  water,  and,  after  remaining  there  some 
little  time,  nearly  motionless,  he  was  permitted  to 
come  out  on  the  side  where  he  went  in.  In  its  gen- 
eral form,  it  had  some  resemblance  to  the  hog,  but  its 
body  is  rounder,  having  the  sides  less  flattened.  Its 
total  length,  exclusive  of  the  tail,  was  about  seven 
feet ; the  height  of  the  back,  which  was  somewhat 
arched,  three  and  a half  feet ; and  the  thickness  of 
the  body,  about  two  and  a half  feet — having  its  ver- 
tical and  lateral  diameter  nearly  equal.  The  tail  was 
about  1J  foot  long,  being  of  a conical  form,  having  its 
large  base  attached  to  the  body  and  tapering  nearly  to 
a point.  The  body  was  naked,  the  skin  resembling 
somewhat,  in  appearance,  that  of  a hog  after  the  bris- 
tles have  been  removed,  but  of  a dark,  cream  brown 
color.  I noticed  a few  short  stiff  bristles,  upon  the 
lips,  and  these  were  all  that  I could  see.  Its  ears 
were  very  small,  and  its  dull,  dark  eyes,  less  than  the 
medium  size,  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  animal; 
as  was,  also,  the  top  and  back  part  of  the  head  ; but 
there  was,  in  the  anterior  part  of  the  head,  a vast  en- 
largement— a kind  of  spoon-bill  aspect — being  broader 
across  near  the  end  of  the  snout,  than  the  width  of 
the  thickest  part  of  the  head.  The  anterior  teeth  are 
conical,  a little  hooking,  about  the  size  of  a man’s 
finger  and  nearly  as  long,  and  placed  so  far  asunder 
that  the  teeth  in  one  jaw  interlocked  with  those  in  the 
other.  There  are  no  prominent  canines,  or  tusks. 
The  short,  thick  legs,  terminate  in  around  clump  foot, 
with  four  short  thick  toes,  of  nearly  equal  size.  It  is 


92 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS 


a young  male,  not  fully  grown,  but  I did  not  learn  its 
age. 

I find  it  stated,  that  there  were  in  the  Zoological 
Gardens,  on  the  first  of  January,  1850,  1361  living 
animals,  of  which  354  were  mammals,  853  birds, 
and  154  reptiles.  These  gardens  belong  to  the  Zoo- 
logical Society,  and  are  open  to  the  public  on  every 
day  in  the  week,  except  Sunday.  Admittance  on 
Monday,  6 d. ; on  other  days,  Is. 

Within  the  inclosure  of  the  gardens,  is  Mr.  Gould’s 
collection  of  humming  birds.  They  consist  of  sev- 
eral hundred  well-prepared  specimens,  belonging  to 
about  one  hundred  different  species,  and  for  variety, 
brilliancy,  and  beauty  of  colors,  scarcely  any  thing  in 
the  world  can  equal  it.  They  are  arranged  upon 
plants  and  flowers,  some  perched  and  others  on  the 
wing,  in  light  glazed  cases,  and  these  are  arranged  in 
a neat  little  building,  erected  o$  purpose  for  their  re- 
ception. 

July  13.  Sunday. — Attended  Divine  service,  , to- 
day, at  Westminster  Abbey,  but  being  misinformed 
with  regard  to  the  time  of  its  commencement,  I did 
not  reach  the  Abbey  till  it  was  nearly  half  over.  I 
found  the  building  crammed  full  of  people,  in  every 
part,  and  although  I elbowed  my  way  into  their  midst, 
I was  not  able  to  reach  a position  where  I could  hear, 
understand ingly,  either  the  service  or  the  sermon. 
But,  I succeeded  in  getting  along  so  far  in  the  crowd, 
that  I could  see  the  preacher,  and  see  that  he  officia- 
ted in  the  surplice  and  scarf.  Five-sixths  of  the  con- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


9$ 

gregation  were  obliged  to  stand,  during  the  whole 
service,  for  want  of  seats,  and  they  were  so  thickly 
crowded  that  they  filled  the  whole  space  entirely, 
when  standing.  As  already  remarked,  I was  not  able 
to  hear  enough  of  the  sermon  to  learn  the  subject  of 
it,  but  the  performances  of  the  organ  and  choir  could 
not  be  concealed,  and  it  is  sufficient  proof  that  the  music 
was  exquisite,  to  state,  that  it  produced  an  effect  even 
upon  me,  as  it  reverberated  among  the  clustered  col- 
umns and  through  the  long  and  lofty  Gothic  arched 
aisles.  I could,  on  this  occasion,  only  glance  at  the 
numerous  tablets,  and  sculptures,  and  monuments,  in 
this  renowned  old  edifice,  but  hope  soon  to  find  time 
to  survey  them  more  minutely.  Being  somewhat 
fatigued  by  my  walk  to  the  Abbey  and"  back,  it  being 
a mile  and  a half  from  my  lodgings,  and  it  being  show- 
ery in  the  afternoon,  I did  not  go  out,  but  spent  the 
remainder  of  the  day  in  my  room. 

July  11.  Monday. — Spent  this  day  in  that  place, 
where  parts  of  all  the  things  in  the  world  are  callected 
together — called  the  British  Museum.  But,  who  is  he, 
who  will  undertake  a description  of  the  British  Muse- 
um ? He  must,  indeed,  be  a verdant  stripling  or  an 
imbecile  dote.  Why,  a full  description  of  this  Museum, 
would  form  a cyclopedia  of  science,  literature,  and  an- 
tiquities, far  more  complete,  than  was  ever  yet  publish- 
ed. Saying  nothing  of  the  immense  amount  of  natural 
productions,  only  think  of  800,000  volumes  of  printed 
books,  (35,000  volumes  of  manuscripts,  several  thousand 

pieces  of  sculpture,  varying  in  weight  from  a few 
9 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


£4 


ounces  to  several  tons,  and  consisting  of  tablets,  and 
s a 'ues,  and  sarcophagi,  and  obelisks,  and  collossal  im- 
ages, collected  into  this  place,  from  the  ruins  of  Abys- 
sinia, and  Nubia,  and  Egypt,  and  Assyria,  and  Greece, 
and  Rome,  and  many  of  them  bearing,  in  writing  or 
hieroglyhics,  important  historical  records  of  the  remotest 
periods  of  antiquity. 

The  edifices,  which  constitute  the  Jdruish  Museum, 
form  a quadrangle,  built  around  an  open  square,  238 
feet  by  317.  The  quadrangle  of  buildings  measures 
about  693  feet  in  front  and  depth;  and  the  front  of  the 
main  building,  which  is  towards  Great  Russell  street, 
is  very  elegant  and  imposing.  It  has  a eolonade  of  44 
columns,  which  are  of  Portland  stone,  five  leet  in  di- 
ameter and  forty-five  feet  high.  The  grand  entrance 
into  the  main  building,  is  in  the  centre  of  this  front, 
which  is  separated  from  the  street  by  a spacious  yard 
and  a high  iron  fence.  Appended  to  the  two  corners, 
and  advancing  nearly  to  the  street,  are  two  elegant 
buildings,  for  offices  and  officer's  aparnients. 

I have  spent  my  time  to-day,  among  the  antiquities, 
both  of  art  and  nature,  and  could  do  little  else,  as  I 
passed  along  from  room  to  room  and  gallery  to  gallery, 
but  gaze  and  wonder.  I first  passed  round  among  the 
Roman  and  Grecian  sculptures,  among  the  Elgin  and 
Ninevah  marbles,  and  through  the  Townley  and  Egyp- 
tian saloon,  and  thence  ascended  by  the  stairway  to  the 
second  floor.  I first  passed  through  the  Egyptian  room 
above,  and  the  rooms  filled  with  Etruscan  vases,  and 
then  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day  amongst  the  fos- 
sils and  minerals.  The  fossils  interested  me  more  than 
any  other  class  of  objects.  These  antique  medals  of  a 


LONDON  AND  TIIE  GEE  AT  EXHIBITION. 


creation  of  mammals,  anterior  to  the  existing  fauna, 
opened  to  me  a new  field  of  observation,  and  I spent 
considerable  time  in  comparing  the  fossil  teeth  of  the 
mastodon,  the  elephant,  the  megatherium,  and  many 
other  large  and  distinct  species  ; and  \ found,  somewhat 
to  my  surprise,  that  the  grinders  of  the  greater  part  of 
them  were  tuberculated  on  the  grinding  surface,  like 
those  of  the  mastodon,  and  not  lined  and  ridged  with 
enamel,  as  is  the  case  with  the  elephant.  Among  the 
minerals,  I noticed  many  specimens  of  native  gold, 
from  various  countries. 

July  15.  Tuesday. — Rested  much  better  last  night, 

than  I had  anticipated,  after  my  hard  day’s  wcrk,  yes- 
terday, and  have  spent  the  whole  of  this  day  at  the 
Crystal  Palace.  Went  in  a little  after  10  A.  M.,  and 
continued  there,  amidst  a moving  mass  of  humanity, 
al  most  as  varied  as  the  objects  of  the  Exhibition,  till  4 
P.  M.  The  building  was  densely  crowded — so  much 
so  that,  it  was  extremely  difficult  moving  from  place  to 
place,  and  I learn,  this  evening,  that  the  number  of  vis- 
itors to  the  Palace  to-day,  has  exceeded  the  number  on 
any  previous  day.  since  the  opening  of  the  Exhibition, 
being  over  74.000.  I have  confined  my  attention  to- 
day. to  the  north  gallery,  but  have  hardly  glimpsed  at 
one  tenth  it  contains.  I found  my  friend,  Shattuck,  at 
his  post,  beside  his  rail- way -car  wheels,  in  the  American 
department.  At  the  room  of  the  American  agency  here, 
there  is  a book,  in  which  Americans,  who  arrive,  record 
their  names  and  residences,  & c.,  and  when  here,  some 
days  ago,  I entered  my  own  name,  and  now  find  that, 
more  than  200  have  entered  their  names  since ; but  I do 
not  find  any  among  them,  with  whom  I am  acquainted. 


i)6 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


I procured  refreshments  at  the  Palace,  and  sat  down 
several  times,  to  rest  me ; but  I found  myself  very  much 
fatigued,  when  I reached  my  lodgings. 

Juj.y  16.  Wednesday . — Thinking  it  would  be  most 
prudent,  to  be  getting  off  for  the  United  States,  as  soon 
as  the  1st  of  August,  I started  this  morning,  with  my 
friend,  Stevens,  for  the  purpose  of  making  inquiries,  at 
the  several  Steamer  Offices,  in  regard  to  my  passage, 
being  yet  undecided  in  what  way  I should  return.  On 
the  Thames,  there  are  a great  many  swift  little  Steam- 
eTs,  which  are  constantly  plying  between  all  the  impor- 
tant points  along  the  river,  and  they  are  constantly  filled 
with  passengers,  the  fare  being  only  one  penny.  We 
proceeded  to  the  nearest  landing  station,  which  was  at 
Charing-Cross  Iron  Bridge;  which  bridge,  by  the  by,  is 
a very  interesting  structure.  The  total  weight  of  the 
chains,  consisting  of  26U0  links,  is  715  tons.  It  consists 
of  three  arches;  the  span  of  the  centre  one  being  676^  ft., 
and  those  on  each  side,  333  feet,  each.  The  height  of 
the  road- way  in  the  centre,  is  32  feet  above  high-water 
mark.  Cost  £106,000.  It  was  designed  for  foot  passen- 
gers only,  and  was  opened  to  the  public,  May  1,  1845. 
From  the  north  pier  of  this  bridge,  there  is  a stair-way 
leading  down  to  the  steamboat  landing  which  we  found 
crowded  with  people,  awaiting  their  turn  to  get  on 
board,  or  to  make  their  way  off  from  the  boats,  two  or 
three  of  which  were  hauled  up  there.  After  waiting 
about  ten  minutes,  we  got  on  board,  and  were  soon 
gliding  down  the  Thames.  The  tide  was  out,  and  all 
the  water  of  the  mighty  Thames,  was  confined  to  a 
narrow  channel,  but  little  exceeding  in  width,  our  own 
little  Winooski.  The  bed  of  the  river,  on  each  side  of 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


97 


the  channel,  appeared  like  a vast  quagmire,  in  which 
were  lying  vessels  of  various  sizes,  and  in  all  positions 
— some  standing  upright  on  their  keels,  some  on  their 
sides,  some  on  their  bows,  and  some  on  their  sterns.  In 
sailing  down  the  river,  when  just  below  Waterloo  bridge, 
we  had,  from  the  boat,  a very  fine  view  of  the  Somerset 
House,  which  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  finest  buildings 
in  London.  It  is  built  in  the  form  of  a quadrangle, 
surrounding  an  open  court,  being  800  feet  in  length, 
and  500  in  depth,  lying  between  the  river  and  the 
Strand.  The  front  next  the  river  is  strikingly  grand 
and  beautiful.  The  Royal  Society,  the  Antiquarian 
Society,  the  Geological  Society,  the  Astronomical  Soci- 
ety, and  the  School  of  Design,  have  apartments  in  this 
building,  where  they  hold  their  meetings. 

In  going  from  Charing-Cross  Bridge,  to  London 
Bridge,  a distance  of  about  one  mile,  we  passed  under 
three  massive  bridges,  which  span  the  Thames,  viz: 
Waterloo,  Black  Frairs’,  and  Southwark.  The  two 
former  are  built  of  stone,  and  the  latter  of  iron.  Water- 
loo bridge,  pronounced  by  Canova,  to  be  the  first  struc- 
ture of  the  kind  in  the  world,  and  by  M.  Dauphin,  the 
celebrated  French  engineer,  to  be  “a  colossal  monument, 
worthy  of  Sesostris  and  the  Caesars,”  was  opened  in 
June,  1817.  It  is  really  a noble  structure.  The  num- 
ber of  persons  passing  and  repassing  in  the  little  steam- 
ers on  the  Thames,  is  truly  wonderful.  At  each  pier, 
the  boats  are  arriving  and  departing  as  often,  on  an 
average,  as  once  every  ten  minutes,  through  the  day,; 
and  they  are  all  the  time  crowded  with  passengers,  and 
move  from  place  to  place  with  great  celerity. 

From  London  Bridge,  I went  to  the  offices  of  the  sev- 

9* 


08 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


eral  ocean  Steamers,  and  concluded  to  take  passage 
home  in  the  Humboldt,  which  is  to  leave  on  the  30th 
instant. 

I returned  on  foot,  and  on  my  way  stopped  to  take 
my  first  look  at  the  interior  ol  St.  Paul’s  Cathedral. 
When  I entered  the  great  body  of  the  Church,  I stopped 
and  looked  about  me  with  as  much  astonishment, 
presume,  as  President  Austin  once  manifested,  when  he 
came  in  sight  of  a certain  conflagration,  which  to^k 
place  in  the  rear  of  the  Vermont  University.  Our  emo- 
tions must,  however,  have  been  quite  different,  as  well 
as  our  exclamations.  He  held  up  both  of  his  bauds,  and 
vociferated — “ ridiculous  ! ridicidous  ! /” — while  I was 
forced  to  exclaim — 1 1 magnificent ! magnificent  //”  F or 
magnificence  and  grandeur,  I think  St.  Paul's  exceeds 
any  public  edifice  I have  seen.  The  building,  of  which 
it  most  reminds  me,  in  its  architecture  and  general  form, 
is  the  Pantheon,  in  Paris,  where  Foucault  first  demon- 
strated the  earth’s  rotation,  as  already  mentioned  ; but 
in  magnitude,  the  Pantheon  is  a mere  pigmy,  compared 
with  St.  Paul’s.  The  general  dimensions  of  St.  Paul’s 
Cathedral  are,  510  feet  in  length,  290  in  width,  and  400 
ki  heigh th  ; and  it  is  a remarkable  fact,  that  this  im- 
mense edifice,  second  only  to  St.  Pi  ter’s  in  Rome,  was 
begun  and  completed  in  the  short  space  of  35  years,  by 
one  architect,  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  one  principal  ma- 
sdn,  Mr.  Thomas  Strong,  and  under  one  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, Dr.  Henry  Compton,  while  St.  Peter’s  was  155 
years  in  building,  under  19  Popes,  by  12  successive 
architects.  I spent  about  an  hour  in  the  Cathedral, 
looking  at  the  monuments  erected  to  the  memory  of  the 
heroes  of  England,  and  in  admiring  the  vastness  of  the 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  99 


edifice  which  enshrined  them,  and  then  finished  my 
day’s  work  by  walking  two  miles  to  my  lodgings. 

July  17.  Thursday.  Spent  this  day  at  the  Great 
Exhibition  in  the  Crystal  Palace ; but  it  is  of  no  use  to 
attempt  to  write  down  particulars  of  what  I saw.  It 
would  be  as  easy  to  give  a botanical  description  of  the 
productions  of  one  of  our  western  prairies,  from  data  col- 
lected during  a ride  through  it  on  horseback,  as  it  would 
for  an  occasional  visitor  to  give  an  account  of  the  arti- 
cles in  the  Exhibition.  I may,  however,  mention  one 
thing  which  I stopped  and  gazad  at  with  some  little  as- 
tonishment. Upon  a massive  iron  safe,  standing  in  the 
nave  of  the  building,  a little  east  of  the  transept,  sur- 
rounded by  a strong  railing,  and  underneath  a grated 
coronal  dome,  through  which  intrusive  hands  could  not 
enter,  was  seen  a little  obovoid  nodule,  less  in  size  than 
half  an  ordinary  apple,  and  which  might  easily  be  mis- 
taken for  a lump  of  flint  glass,  carelessly  dropped  in  a 
glass-house — and  this  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  the 
world-famed  diamond,  “ Koh-i-Noor of  Runjeet  Singh, 
valued  at  £2,000,000  sterling,  (nearly  $10,000,000  ! ! !) 
a sum  which  would  build  fourteen  Crystal  Palaces,  or, 
would  build  a handsome  church  in  every  town  in  New 
England. 

July  18.  Friday. — Spent  the  forenoon  in  an  excur- 
sion to  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  at  half-past  one, 
P.  M.,  went  to  the  Waterloo  Rail-Way  station,  and  took 
a passage  in  the  cars  to  Wimbledon  Common,  for  the 
purpose  of  delivering  letters  to  Mrs.  Maryatt.  I found 
her  carriage  at  the  door,  and  that  she  was  about  leaving 
to  fulfil  an  engagement  abroad.  She  remained  to  read 
her  letters,  and  gave  me  a pressing  invitation  to  remain 


100 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


and  dine  with  her.  I found  her  to  be  an  interesting  and 
venerable  old  lady,  of  more  than  SO  years,  and  yet, 
apparently  quite  healthy  and  active.  The  village  of 
Wimbledon  is  neat,  but  small.  It  is  entered  on  the 
south-east  side  by  a gate,  and  opens  to  the  north-west 
into  a beautiful  and  extensive  common.  The  delightful 
residence  of  Mrs.  Maryatt,  is  situated  on  the  side  of  the 
little  village,  adjacent  to  the  common,  and  is  surrounded 
by  beautiful  gardens  and  groves.  I spent  about  half  an 
hour  with  Miss  Maryatt,  after  her  mother’s  departure, 
and  returned,  by  the  4 o’clock  train,  to  London. 

July  19.  Saturday. — Rained  most  of  the  day — 
did  not  go  to  the  Crystal  Palace,  as  I had  intended, 
but  spent  considerable  time  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
The  more  I see  of  this  venerable  building,  the  more  I 
admire  it.  The  interior  of  St.  Paul’s  appears  more 
vast,  as  does  also  the  interior  of  Notre  Dame,  in  Paris  ; 
but  there  is  something  about  the  old-clustered  col- 
umns, and  the  lofty-pointed  arches  of  the  Abbey, 
which  produces,  in  my  mind,  emotions  quite  different 
from  either  of  those.  It  seems,  as  it  were,  the  avenue 
from  earth  to  heaven. 

Most  of  the  time  spent  to-day,  in  the  Abbey,  was 
devoted  to  an  inspection  of  the  chapels  which  sur- 
rounded the  choir,  and  in  that  magnificent  addition  to 
the  Abbey,  known  as  Henry  VII.  Chapel.  This  last 
chapel  is  a place  of  exceeding  great  interest,  not  only 
on  account  of  its  architectural  structure  and  orna- 
ments, but  of  the  trophies  and  monuments  it  contains. 
It  is  entered  from  the  Abbey  by  a flight  of  several 
steps.  It  is  115  feet  long,  80  wide,  and  the  top  of  its 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  101 


turrets  102  feet  high.  Westminster  Abbey,  exclusive 
of  Henry  VII  Chapel,  is,  in  length,  416  feet  ; width 
at  the  transept,  203  feet;  height  of  the  west  towers, 
225  feet. 

July  20.  Sunday. — Had  calculated  to  attend  the 
services  in  St.  Paul’s  Cathedral  to-day,  but  the  morn- 
ing being  showery,  and  St.  Paul’s  more  than  two 
miles  from  my  lodgings,  I concluded  to  attend  the 
parish  church  on  the  east  side  of  Euston  Square,  call- 
ed St.  Pancreas’  Church.  This  is  a large  and  elegant 
church,  built  of  brick,  and  faced  with  Portland  stone. 
It  is  modelled  in  imitation  of  the  Athenian  temple  of 
Erectheus.  Its  length  is  117  feet,  width  60,  and  the 
height  of  its  steeple  168  feet.  It  has  galleries  on 
three  sides,  supported  by  columns,  copied  from  the 
Elgin  marbles.  The  church  has  a commanding  ap- 
pearance, with  a beautiful  portico,  and  is  very  neat 
and  elegant  within.  I found  the  church  well  filled, 
by  a respectable  looking  and  very  attentive  audience. 
The  service  was  read  by  a young  clergyman ; at  the 
close  of  which,  he  published  the  bans  of  marriage 
between  about  one  hundred  couple.  Before  he  got 
through  his  formidable  list,  I began  to  think  that  some 
Millerite  had  been  laboring  successfully  in  the  parish, 
or  that  some  new  comet  was  approaching,  which,  it 
was  expected,  would  burn  up  the  world. 

The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  rector  of  the 
church,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Dale,  and  he  delivered  a most 
excellent  discourse,  and  did  it  too  in  a very  impres- 
sive manner.  I attended  the  afternoon  services  in  the 


102 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


same  church,  and  the  same  persons  officiated  as  in  the 
forenoon.  Mr.  D.’s  text,  in  the  forencon,  was  founded 
on  a portion  of  the  third  chapter  of  the  1st  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  from  the  11th  to  the  15th  verses  ; 
and  in  the  afternoon,  upon  the  last  clause  of  the  47th 
verse  of  the  2d  chapter  of  the  Acts  ; and,  according 
to  my  views,  he  gave  two  well-written,  sound  and 
scriptural  discourses,  in  which  it  was  shown  that 
Christ  was  the  only  foundation — that  on  this  founda- 
tion the  true  church  of  God  was  built,  and  that  the 
Church  of  England  was  undoubtedly  a part  of  the 
true  church  of  God.  If  such  sermons  were  generally 
preached  in  the  pulpits  of  the  establishment,  and  the 
clergymen  illustrated  their  discourses  by  consistent 
examples,  they  would  need,  I think,  to  have  little 
fear  of  Romanism  on  the  one  hand,  or  dissent  on  the 
other.  Ecclesiastical  Titles  Bills  might  safely  be  dis- 
pensed with.  I passed  the  evening  at  Mr.  Atkinson's, 
where  I met  several  Americans. 

July  21.  Monday. — Have  had  a very  hard  day’s 
work,  but,  withal,  a very  interesting  one.  Went  first 
to  Temple  Bar,  thence  to  Temple  Church,  thence  to 
the  Mint,  and  thence  to  the  famous  Tower  of  Lon- 
don, where  I spent  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  Tem- 
ple Bar  is  the  only  boundary,  now  remaining  visible, 
of  the  old  city  of  London.  It  is  an  arched  gateway, 
crossing  Fleet  street,  and  formerly  separated  London 
from  Westminster.  Temple  Gardens,  Temple  Church, 
and  many  things  about  this  location  of  the  Knights 
Templars,  are  very  interesting,  particularly  the  church, 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  103 


near  which  are  buried  the  mortal  remains  of  Oliver 
Goldsmith,  while  his  monument,  with  Dr.  Johnson’s 
inscription,  is  in  Poet’s  Corner,  Westminster  Abbey. 

The  Tower,  which  engaged  my  chief  attention,  is, 
in  every  respect,  an  interesting  and  wonderful  place. 
Its  exterior  consists  of  a strong  wall,  provided  with 
angular  bastions,  and  surrounded  by  a broad  ditch. 
The  interior  consists  of  a parade  ground  and  numer- 
ous buildings,  of  which  that  called  the  White  Tower 
is  the  most  conspicuous.  All  parts  are  freely  accessi- 
ble to  the  public,  excepting  the  Armory  and  the  Jewel 
House.  For  admission  to  each  of  these,  a fee  of  6 d. 
is  required ; and,  for  that,  the  visitor  has  the  benefit 
of  a guide,  who  names  and  explains  the  several  ob- 
jects, in  passing  along.  The  first  long  hall  of  the 
Armory,  is  filled  with  figures  of  ancient  kings  and 
knights,  and  noblemen,  on  horseback,  clad,  in  many 
cases,  in  the  identical  armor  which  the  persons  wore, 
while  living.  In  this  and  the  various  other  depart- 
ments, arc  preserved  the  warlike  implements,  of  of- 
fence and  defence,  of  English  history.  Here  is  pre- 
served the  axe,  with  which  state  criminals  were  be- 
headed ; and  I was  shown  the  block,  said  to  be  the 
identical  one,  on  which  the  head  of  Anne  Bcleyn  was 
chopped  off.  I parsed  through  the  room  in  which  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  was  incarcerated  for  twelve  years,  and 
went  into  the  damp,  windowless  cell,  which  was  his 
deeping  room. 

In  the  Jewel  House,  which  is  situated  to  the  north- 
eastward of  the  Armory,  is  a room  called  the  Rega- 


104 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


lia,  in  which  are  deposited  the  crown  jewels,  from 
the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  They  consist  of  fonts,  tank- 
ards, goblets,  &c.  of  pure  gold,  crowns  of  the  English 
sovereigns,  and  a great  variety  of  precious  things. 
Among  the  crowns,  is  that  worn  by  the  present  Queen, 
Victoria,  valued  at  one  million  sterling.  The  whole 
collection  is  valued  at  several  millions ; and  while  look- 
ing at  it,  I could  not  avoid  thinking  how  much  more 
good  might  be  effected  by  those  millions,  if  expended 
in  relieving  the  sufferings  and  elevating  the  character 
of  the  lower  classes  of  the  community,  instead  of  stand- 
ing here  to  be  gazed  at.  Imitations,  in  wood,  with  the 
exterior  well  gilded,  would  answer  the  same  purpose 
here,  if  the  deception  were  not  detected ; and  there 
would  be  little  chance  for  detection,  by  visitors,  since 
they  are  not  permitted  to  come  within  eight  feet  of  the 
articles.  The  simple  interest  of  the  estimated  value  of 
the  regalia,  would  amount  to  nearly  a million  of  dollars 
annually,  and  would  furnish  the  liberal  salary  of  £200 
sterling  per  annum  to  one  thousand  Christian  mission- 
aries. It  looks,  to  me,  rather  anti-utilitarian  to  lock  up 
so  much  wealth  for  mere  ostentation. 

July  22.  Tuesday. — Having  obtained  my  ticket  yes- 
terday, entitling  me  to  a seat  in  the  Peace  Congress,  as 
delegate  from  Vermont,  I proceeded,  this  morning,  to 
Exeter  Hall,  the  place  of  meeting,  where  I arrived 
about  half-past  10.  I found  a large  number  of  dele- 
gates and  spectators  already  assembled ; and  at  11,  the 
time  of  organizing  the  meeting,  the  immense  hall  ap- 
peared to  be  entirely  filled.  The  congress  was  called 
to  order  by  Mr.  Richards,  one  of  the  secretaries,  and 
Sir  David  Brewster  was  elected  president;  who,  on  ta- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  105 


king  the  chair,  delivered  a very  beautifully  written  and 
appropriate  inaugural  address. 

Mr.  Richards  having  read  the  names  of  the  foreign 
delegates  in  attendance,  remarked  that  he  would  not  take 
up  the  time  of  the  Congress  in  reading  over  the  names 
of  the  British  delegates,  since  they  amounted  to  more 
than  a thousand.  The  resolutions  to  be-  brought  before 
the  Congress,  were  prepared  by  the  standing  committee, 
and  published  in  a programme  of  the  proceedings ; but 
before  their  discussion  was  entered  upon,  a short  time 
was  devoted  to  silent  prayer,  for  the  Divine  blessing 
upon  their  labors. 

Two  resolutions  were  very  amply  discussed  during 
this  day's  session:  the  first  in  relation  to  the  influence 
of  the  pulpit,  the  school  and  the  press,  in  the  diffusion 
of  peace  principles;  and  the  second,  upon  the  settle- 
ment of  national  disputes,  by  arbitration.  The  first  res- 
olution was  introduced  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  James,  and 
supported  by  a very  able  speech.  He  was  followed  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Brock,  Rev.  Dr.  Aspinall,  Rev.  A.  Coc- 
qnerel,  Jr.,  Prof.  Saler,  a Spaniard,  and  M.  J.  Delbruck, 
Editor  of  a Journal  of  Education,  in  Paris.  The  second 
resolution  was  introduced  and  ably  supported  by  M. 
Visschers,  of  Brussels.  He  was  followed  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Beckwith,  Secretary  of  the  American  Peace  Society, 
and  the  Rev.  J.  Burnet.  Mr.  Beckwith’s  speech  was 
highly  creditable  to  himself,  and  to  the  friends  of  Peace 
in  America.  Mr.  Burnet’s  was  filled  with  humor,  and 
well  calculated  to  secure  the  interest  of  the  audience,  to 
the  close  of  the  five  hours  sitting.  He  told  them,  among 
other  things  that,  if  war  was  wisdom,  there  must  be,  in 
that  hall,  an  immense  gathering  of  fools;  that  the  peace 


106 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


of  the  world  was  not  to  be  kept  by  their  Wellingtons, 
bat  by  their  Brewsters.  These  resolutions  were  sup- 
ported by  a considerable  display  of  oratory,  and  were 
adopted  unanimously. 

July  23.  Wednesday , — Have  spent  all  this  day  in 
attendance  upon  the  Peace  Congress.  The  weather  has 
been  dark  and  foggy,  with  some  rain  ; but  notwith- 
standing this,  Exeter  Hall  has  been  filled  all  da)7-,  to  its 
utmost  capacity.  The  air  has  been  hot  and  oppressive; 
but  the  patient  and  quiet  enduranceof  the  audience,  for 
five  long  hours,  has  showed  clearly  that  the  war  spirit 
was  not  rampant  there,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  the 
advocates  of  peace  could  illustrate  their  principles  by 
their  examples. 

Three  resolutions  have  been  discussed  to-day.  The 
first  in  relation  to  a mutual  and  general  reduction  of 
national  armaments ; second,  the  non-interference  of  one 
nation  in  the  internal  affairs  of  another  ; and  third,  the 
wrongs  perpetrated  by  civilized  nations  upon  uncivilized 
tribes.  The  first  of  these  resolutions  was  supported  by 
Mr.  Cobden,  Member  of  Parliament,  in  one  of  the  ablest 
speeches  I have  yet  heard.  He  was  followed  by  M.  de 
Pompery,  of  Paris,  and  by  Mr.  Ewart  and  Mr.  Macgrcgor, 
two  other  Members  of  Parliament.  The  second  resolu- 
tion was  supported  by  Mr.  Vincent,  Dr.  Beaumont,  and 
M.  Gamier,  the  French  Secretary.  The  third  resolu- 
tion was  moved  by  Mr.  Burnet,  and  was  supported  by 
him,  and  by  Rev.  F.  Crowe,  of  Guatemala,  the  Rev.  II. 
Garnett,  and  Mr.  Girardin,  of  La  Presse.  M.  Girardin 
said  he  was  not  a soldier,  but  a deserter,  having  deserted 
from  the  National  Assembly  of  France,  that  be  might  be 
present  in  this  Congress,  where  he  was  delighted  to  find 
himself. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  107 


July  24.  Thursday. — Having  learned  that  Dr.  John 
G.  Warren,  of  Boston,  had  arrived  in  London,  and  was 
stopping  at  the  Brunswick  Hotel,  on  Hanover  Square. 
I called  on  him  for  a few  moments,  and  also  upon  my 
friend,  Mr.  Yarrell,  on  my  way  to  Exeter  Hall.  Mr. 
Yarrell  was  so  kind  as  to  present  me  a copy  of  his 
beautifully  illustrated  work,  on  British  Fishes,  in  two 
octavo  volumes. 

When  I reached  Exeter  Hall,  the  business  of  the 
Congress  had  already  commenced.  Fifteen  working- 
men, from  Paris,  had  been  introduced,  and  addresses 
were  made  by  C.  Hindley,  M.  P.,  by  Pierre  Vinsard,  one 
of  the  working-men,  and  Dr.  Kreutznach,  of  Frankfort- 
on-the-Maine,  The  first  resolution  of  the  day,  which 
related  to  the  immorality,  and  other  evils  of  loans  for 
warlike  purposes,  was  introduced  and  well  supported  by 
Mr.  Charles  Gilpin,  of  London,  and  was  further  discussed 
by  Mr.  Miall,  Editor  of  the  Nonconformist,  Mr.  S.  Gur- 
ney, Mr.  Cobden,  Mr.  Buckingham  and  M.  Avigdon, 
banker  of  Nice.  The  preceeding  resolution  being  car- 
ried, M.  de  Cormenin,  of  Paris,  moved  the  next  resolu- 
tion, which  recommended  that,  the  friends  of  Peace 
should  support,  by  their  votes,  in  all  Constitutional 
Countries,  measures  for  the  diminution  of  the  number  of 
men  employed  in,  and  the  amount  of  money  expended 
for,  war  purposes.  He  supported  the  resolution,  in  a 
speech  of  considerable  length ; but  as  he  spoke  in  the 
French  language,  I was  unable  to  judge  of  its  merits. 
Tne  speech  of  M.  de  Cormenin  was  followed  by  some 
pertinent  remarks  by  the  Re  v.  Dr.  Massie,  after  whicli 
the  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted.  Mr.  Elihu 
Burritt  then  arose,  and  proposed  a resolution,  in  rela- 


108 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS 


tion  to  the  formation  of  an  authorative  code  of  interna- 
tional law.  This  resolution  lie  supported,  in  a long  and 
able  speech,  which  was  highly  applauded.  He  was 
followed  by  M.  Coignet,  of  Lyons,  M.  Feuh,  M.  Ecuvet, 
of  the  French  National  Assembly,  and  Dr.  Scherzer,  of 
Vienna.  The  next  resolution,  relating  to  the  effect  of 
the  Great  Industrial  Exhibition  of  all  nations,  in  promo- 
ting peace  principles,  was  then  read,  and,  without  dis- 
cussion, was  passed  by  acclamation. 

Then,  after  the  transaction  of  a little  business,  the 
President  of  the  Congress  arose,  and  delivered  a short, 
but  very  impressive  farewell  address.  Votes  of  thanks 
to  the  several  officers  of  the  Congress,  having  been 
unanimously  passed,  a final  adjournment  took  place  at 
half  past  4,  P.  M. 

During  the  progress  of  the  meeting  of  the  Congress, 
letters  of  adhesion  to  the  Peace  Cause,  were  read,’  from 
a large  number  of  distinguished  individuals,  who  were 
unable  to  attend.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the 
names  of  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  Thomas  Carlyle, 
Baron  Humboldt,  Liebeg  the  Chemist,  and  Victor  Hugo. 

At  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress,  it  was  announced 
that  the  British  delegates  would  give  a soiree  on  the 
evening  of  the  next  day,  Friday,  at  Willis’  Rccms,  for 
the  special  reception  of  the  foreign  delegates,  and  tickets 
were  furnished  accordingly. 

On  every  account,  I must  say  that,  I look  upon  the 
present  meeting  of  the  World's  Peace  Congress,  as  a 
great  and  interesting  affair ; and  when  T look  upon  it 
in  connection  with  the  Great  Industrial  Exhibition, 
where  there  is  not  only  a commingling,  in  the  Crystal 
Palace,  of  the  choicest  productions  of  all  countries,  but, 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  109 


at  the  same  time,  a friendly  commingling  and  a peaceful 
and  noble  rivalry  of  the  people  of  the  different  nations, 
I can  regard  them  in  no  other  light,  than  that  of  har- 
bingers and  liasteners  of  the  time  predicted,  when  “ the 
wolf  shall  lie  down  with  the  lamb” — when  “ the  nations 
shall  learn  war  no  more,” — and  when  all  the  families 
and  kindred  of  the  whole  earth,  shall  be  gathered  into 
one  fold , under  one  shepherd — and  he  “The  Prince  of 
Peace.”  * 

July  25.  Friday. — Got  off  pretty  early,  this  morn- 
ing, on  an  excursion  to  the  lower  part  of  the  city.  I at 
first  spent  some  time  in  wandering  about  the  St.  Kathe- 
rine’s and  London  Docks.  These  are  situated  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  a little  below  the  Tower.  Their 
great  extent,  the  vast  amount  of  shipping,  and  the  im- 
mense number  and  magnitude  of  the  store-houses,  are 
calculated  to  overwhelm  and  bewilder  a stranger  in  a 
hasty  survey.  These  docks  occupy  39  acres,  and  cost 
more  than  £6,000,000  sterling;  but  they  are  of  much 
less  extent  than  the  East  and  W est  India  Docks,  lying 
further  down  the  river.  The  West  India  Docks,  includ- 
ing the  canal  leading  into  them,  occupy  295  acres,  but 
I found  no  time  to  visit  them. 

From  the  London  Docks  I proceeded  to  the  Thames 
Tunnel.  This  tunnel  passes  under  the  bed  of  the  river, 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  metropolis,  and  nearly  two  miles 
below  London  Bridge.  It  was  originally  projected  and 
finally  constructed  by  the  energy  and  skill  of  Sir  I.  K. 
Brunei.  It  was  begun  in  1825,  and  opened  to  the  pub- 

* A brief  report  of  the  doings  of  the  Peace  Congress,  was  made  by  the 
the  author  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Vermont  Peace  Committee,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Vermont  Chronicle. 


10* 


110 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


lie  in  1S43.  It  consists  of  a square  mass  of  brick- work, 
37  feet  wide  and  22  feet  high,  containing  in  it  two 
arched  passages,  each  I63  feet  wide,  and  152  feet  high. 
Each  passage  has  a carriage  road  13j  feet  wide,  and  a 
side- walk  3 feet  wide.  The  two  passages  are  separated 
by  open  arches,  and  the  whole  interior  is  well  lighted 
with  gas,  having  a burner  in  each  arch.  The  whole 
length  of  the  tunnel  is  1300  feet,  and  the  thickness,  be- 
tween the  tops  of  the  arches  and  the  bottom  of  the  river 
over  them,  is  15  feet.  The  cost  of  the  Tunnel  was 
£614,000.  Though  earriage  roads  are  constructed  in 
the  Tunnel,  there  is  no  way  provided  for  carriages  to 
enter  it  at  either  end.  Foot  passengers  gain  admission 
by  descending  a circular  shaft,  some  40  feet  wide,  and 
60  feet  deep,  by  circular  stairs,  and  emerge  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  by  a similar  shaft,  after  passing  through 
the  tunnel.  The  toll  is  one  penny.  It  is  not  found  to 
be  so  much  used  as  a business  thoroughfare  as  was  ex- 
pected, but  large  numbers  pass  through  to  admire  it  as 
a curiosity ; and  yet  the  revenue  from  it  affords  no  ad- 
equate return  for  the  outlay  in  its  construction.  I entered 
the  tunnel  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  emerged 
from  it  on  the  south  side.  I found  nearly  all  parts  of  it 
thronged  with  people  moving  in  different  directions,  and 
in  almost  all  the  arches,  near  the  lights,  were  stands  for 
the  sale  of  refreshments,  toys,  and  a great  variety  of 
useful  and  fancy  articles.  As  I walked  deliberately 
along,  admiring  the  beauty  of  the  arches  and  the  vast- 
ness of  the  work,  I could  not  help  thinking,  what  a 
scampering,  and  scrambling  and  screaming  would  take 
place  among  the  inmates  of  the  tunnel,  in  case  the 
mighty  Thames,  which  was  rolling  over  our  heads, 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  Ill 


should  burst  through  the  brick  arch,  which  protected  us, 
and  pour  in  upon  us  a deluge  of  water. 

I returned  to  the  north  side  of  the  river  by  way  of 
London  Bridge,  and  in  the  evening,  availing  myself  of 
the  ticket  furnished  me  for  the  soiree , I proceeded  to 
Willis’  Rooms,  where  I found  myself  in  a party  con- 
sisting of  more  than  a thousand  persons,  about  one 
third  of  whom  were  ladies.  These  rooms  are  very  large 
and  airy,  beautifully  finished  and  richly  furnished,  with 
sofas  and  mirrors  and  pictures,  and  are  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  fashionable  and  honorable  places  of  enter- 
tainment in  London.  I found  in  the  vast  crowd,  but 
few  to  whom  I had  been  previously  introduced.  Mr. 
Beckwith  and  Mr.  Burritt,  were  the  only  Americans 
present,  with  whom  I was  acquainted.  The  evening 
was  mostly  spent  in  conversation  in  little  clusters  ; but 
a short  time  before  I left,  several  gentlemen  entertained 
the  company  by  short  speeches.  The  refreshments  were 
quite  simple.  They  consisted  of  several  kinds  of  cake, 
strawberries  and  ice-creams ; with  lemonade,  tea  and 
coffee  for  drinks.  I left  the  company  a little  after  11. 

July  26.  Saturday. — Day  stormy — spent  a large 
part  of  it  m Westminster  Abbey.  There  are  three 
principal  entrances  to  the  Abbey — from  the  west,  un- 
der the  great  towers,  into  the  nave — from  the  church- 
yard, on  the  north,  into  the  north  transept — and  from 
the  east,  between  the  Chapter  House  and  the  main 
body  of  the  Abbey,  into  the  south  transept.  This 
last  entrance  is  directly  opposite  to  the  entrance  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  in  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament. 

The  south  transept  is  best  known  by  the  name  of 
Poet’s  Corner  ; and  it  derives  its  name  from  the  cir- 


112 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


cumstance,  that  it  contains  monuments  erected  to  the 
memory  of  nearly  all  the  distinguished  English  poets. 
The  number  of  inscriptions  in  Poet’s  Corner  exceeds 
fifty.  Among  these,  I noticed  the  names  of  Geoffrey 
Chaucer,  William  Shakspeare,  Ben  Johnson,  Edmund 
Spenser,  Samuel  Butler,  John  Milton,  Thomas  Gray, 
Matthew  Prior,  John  Dryden,  Abraham  Cowley,  James 
Thomson,  Oliver  Goldsmith,  and  so  on.  The  monu- 
ments to  distinguished  civilians,  jurists,  and  men  of 
science,  are  mostly  in  the  nave  and  north  transept. 
The  dignitaries  in  church  and  state,  embracing  bish- 
ops, saints,  nobility,  and  royalty,  have  their  monu- 
ments and  inscriptions  mostly  in  the  choir  and  the 
numerous  chapels.  I learn,  from  a published  list, 
that  the  whole  number  is  three  hundred  and  fifty. 

Coleridge  once  said — “ On  entering  a Cathedral,  I 
am  fdled  with  devotion  and  awe  ; I am  lost  to  the 
actualities  that  surround  me,  and  my  whole  being  is 
merged  into  the  infinite — earth  and  air,  nature  and 
art,  all  swell  up  into  eternity,  and  the  only  stnsible 
impression  left  is,  that  I am  nothing and  it  seems 
to  me  as  if  it  were  hardly  possible  for  any  one  to  en- 
ter Westminster  Abbey  without  experiencing  some- 
what of  this  sentiment.  While  looking  around  upon 
the  dingy  monuments  of  knights  and  princes,  and 
endeavoring  to  decipher  their  half-obliterated  inscrip- 
tions, .the  truth  of  the  well-known  lines — 

“ A heap  of  dust  alone  remains  of  thee, 

’Tis  all  thou  art ” 

was  continually  forcing  itself  upon  my  thoughts,  not- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  113 


withstanding  all  these  costly  efforts  to  immortalize 
their  chivalry. 

July  27.  Sunday. — Attended  morning  service  at 
St.  Paul’s  Cathedral,  but  being  mistaken  half  an  hour 
in  the  time  of  its  commencing,  I found  the  choir,  in 
which  it  was  performed,  filled  when  I arrived,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  I failed  in  hearing  much  of  the 
service.  The  choir,  i.i  which  the  public  religious 
services  were  performed,  is  separated  from  the  nave 
of  the  church  by  a bronze  grating,  nearly  over  which 
stands  the  great  organ.  The  gateways  through  this 
grating  are  closed,  when  the  service  commences,  which 
prevents  any  from  going  in,  or  coming  out,  during  the 
service,  so  that  a person  arriving  too  late  is  able  to 
hear  very  little,  excepting  the  voice  of  the  immense 
organ.  Excepting  a few  who  listened  on  the  outside 
of  the  grate,  the  multitude,  which  could  not  gain 
access  to  the  choir,  spent  the  time  of  service  in  the 
body  of  the  church,  looking  at  the  monuments  and 
inscriptions. 

The  monuments  here  are  few  in  number,  and 
mostly  of  modern  date.  Among  these,  are  monu- 
ments of  Nelson,  Collingwood,  Cornwallis,  Abercrom- 
bie, Sir  William  Jones,  Bishop  Heber,  Dr.  Johnson, 
and  Howard,  the  philanthropist.  Nelson’s  tomb  is  in 
the  vault  below. 

Over  the  entrance  into  the  choir,  is  a modest  in- 
scription to  the  memory  of  the  builder  of  the  cathe- 
dral, in  Latin,  of  which  the  following  is  a translation  : 
“ Beneath  lies  Christopher  Wren,  the  architect  of  this 


114 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


church , and  city,  who  lived  more  than  90  years , not  for 
himself  alone , the  public.  Reader , do  i/ow  as/:  Ais 

monument  ? Look  around  ! ” 

July  28.  Monday. — Spent  the  greater  part  of  this 
day  in  the  British  Museum.  Noticing  that  most  of 
the  fresh  water  species  of  molluscs  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain were  wanting  in  their  collection  of  shells,  I 
gave  them  several  specimens  of  our  Limnaa  mega- 
soma ; also  some  geological  specimens  from  Vermont. 

July  29.  Tuesday. — When  I called  upon  Mr. 
Lawrence,  the  American  Minister,  soon  after  my  arri- 
val in  London,  he  very  kindly  offered  to  give  me 
tickets  to  several  places  which  I thought  I might  like 
to  visit.  But,  finding  that  the  time  of  my  departure 
was  so  near  that  I should  not  be  able  to  avail  myself 
of  them,  I called  upon  him  this  morning  to  thank 
him  for  his  proffered  favors.  II is  residence  is  near 
the  west  end  of  Piccadilly  Street,  not  far  from  the 
corner  of  Hydepark,  and  having  Green  Park  on  the 
south.  I was  received  very  politely,  and  he  appeared 
to  treat  the  Americans  generally,  who  called  upon 
him,  with  much  attention. 

From  the  residence  of  the  American  Minister  I 
went  to  the  Crystal  Palace,  where  I spent  the  remain- 
der of  the  day.  I have  now  probably  made  my  last 
visit  to  the  Crystal  Palace  ; but  I have  no  time,  this 
evening,  to  record,  in  my  journal,  as  I would  like  to 
do,  some  general  remarks  respecting  this  wonderful 
building  and  what  it  contains.  That  must  be  defer- 
red to  a more  convenient  period. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  115 


July  30.  Wednesday. — Spent  the  forenoon  in  at- 

tending to  sundry  little  matters  preparatory  to  my  de- 
parture from  London,  and  at  2 P.  M.  proceeded  in  a 
cab  to  the  Waterloo  Railway  station.  At  3,  precisely, 

I left  London  in  the  express  train  for  Southampton, 
where  I arrived  at  5,  making  the  passage  of  eighty 
miles  in  just  two  hours,  including  two  stoppings, 
amounting  to  about  five  minutes.  The  fare  from 
London  to  Southampton  is  $3. 

After  the  usual  ceremony  and  bustle,  and  paying 
the  several  fees  of  porterage,  dockage,  &c.,  I found 
myself  at  5J  P.  M.  on  board  the  steamer,  Queen, 
where  I met  with  a Mr.  Jackson  and  wife,  who  were 
passengers  out  with  me  in  the  Franklin,  and  were 
now  on  their  return.  We  left  Southampton  a little 
before  6 P.  M.  and  arrived  at  Cowes  at  7,  where  we 
lay  till  nearly  9,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  Humboldt 
from  Havre.  At  10,  we  were  all  safely  on  board  the 
Humboldt,  and  ready  to  take  our  departure  for  Ameri- 
ca. I had  been  but  a few  minutes  cn  board  be- 
fore a gentleman  came  up  to  me  and  called  me  by 
name  • and  I was  no  less  delighted  than  surprised  to 
learn,  that  he  was  a Vermonter  and  a near  neighbor 
to  me  when  at  home — O.  F.  Holabird.  Esq.,  of  Shel- 
burne. He  informs  me  that  he  is  concerned  with  S. 
W.  Jewett,  Esq.,  of  Weybridge,  in  getting  out  to  the 
United  States  a choice  variety  of  sheep,  and  that  he 
had  been  to  France  on  that  business.  We  neither  of 
us  knew  that  the  other  was  in  Europe,  and  the 
thought  that  I am  to  have  his  company  across  the 
wide  ocean,  is  to  me  the  source  of  much  gratification. 


116  . 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


July  31.  Thursday. — I retired  to  my  state-room 
last  night  at  about  11£,  and  slept  very  well  till  5 this 
morning.  I find  my  state-room  nearer  mid -ship  and 
more  pleasantly  situated  than  the  one  I occupied  on 
board  the  Franklin,  and  that  my  chum  is  a youngster 
by  the  name  of  McKenzie.  When  I arose  this  morn- 
ing, I found  the  heavens  overcast  with  clouds,  and 
it  has  continued  cloudy  all  day,  with  fog,  slight 
sprinkles  of  rain,  and  a strong  breeze  directly  ahead. 
Have  had  fine  views  of  the  coast  of  England,  as  we 
passed  along,  and  of  the  Edystone  and  several  other 
light-houses.  Saw  land  for  the  last  time  a little  after 
noon.  The  sea  has  been  somewhat  rough  during  the 
day,  and  the  effect  of  the  pitching  and  tossing  of  the 
ship,  I see,  is  quite  plainly  depicted  in  the  counte- 
nances of  the  passengers.  The  sun  not  having  been 
visible  to-day,  no  observations  could  be  made  for  time 
or  latitude.  In  going  into  the  dock  at  Havre,  the 
frame  work  of  the  Humboldt’s  engine  was  badly 
cracked,  and  this  afternoon  it  was  found  that  so  much 
friction  was  produced,  in  consequence,  that  parts  of 
the  machinery  had  become  heated  almost  to  a red 
heat.  They  were,  therefore,  obliged  to  stop  the  en- 
gine for  more  than  half  an  hour  for  the  purpose  of 
cooling  it,  and  strengthening  the  frame  work,  by 
means  of  wedges.  The  injury  is  greater  than  was 
supposed,  when  the  ship  left  Havre,  and  fears  are  had 
that  it  may  entirely  fail  before  we  get  across  the  At- 
lantic. 

August  1.  Friday. — Another  cloudy  day,  with  a 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  117 


strong  head  wind.  Nearly  all  on  board  are  suffering 
seriously  by  sea-sickness,  and  some  are  very  sick. 
Have  felt  some  nausea  and  loss  of  appetite,  but  suffer 
very  little  compared  with  most  others.  Have  passed 
in  sight  of  two  or  three  sail,  but  nothing  has  occur- 
red of  much  interest.  It  may  be  set  down  as  a dull, 
gloomy  day,  characterized  only  by  sea-sickness  and 
the  monotony  of  the  ocean. 

August  2.  Saturday. — In  most  respects,  this  day 
may  be  set  down  as  ditto  to  yesterday.  The  wind 
was  strong  ahead  all  night,  and  has  continued  so 
through  the  day,  and  the  ship  has  tossed  and  pitched 
very  badly — a state  of  things  not  well  calculated  for 
the  speedy  removal  of  sea-sickness.  The  condition 
of  the  sufferers  does  not  appear  much  improved.  And 
while  the  situation  of  those  on  board  has  been  made 
very  disagreeable  by  unfavorable  wind  and  weather, 
it  has  been  made  doubly  irksome,  by  repeatedly  stop- 
ping the  engine  to  cool  and  wedge  up  the  machinery. 
Saw  the  sun  a few  moments  to-day,  but  think  Capt. 
Lines  was  not  able  to  get  a good  observation  for  time 
and  latitude.  Saw  a large  school  of  porpoises  gam- 
boling and  leaping  out  of  the  water  in  their  usual 
way.  The  day  is  closing  as  it  began,  with  the  wind 
and  sea  high,  and  the  weather  foggy,  chilly  and  gloo- 
my. 

August  3.  Sunday. — The  wind  continued  high 
and  ahead  during  the  night,  but  abated  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  before  noon  came  round  and  blew  lightly  from 

the  north,  the  sea  at  the  same  time  becoming  less  agL 
11 


118 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


tated ; but  our  broken  engine  gave  us  much  anxiety, 
and  the  ship  was  frequently  stopped  for  the  purpose 
of  strengthening  it  by  wedging  and  bracing.  If  our 
engines  should  finally  fail  us.  it  must  take  us  a very 
long  time  to  reach  land  in  any  direction,  as  we  are 
now  about  one-third  of  the  distance  across  the  ocean, 
and  our  means  of  sailing  very  feeble.  The  wind, 
which  had  been  light  during  the  forenoon,  began  to 
increase  about  1 P.  M.,  and  is  now  (9  P.  M.)  blowing 
quite  a gale  from  the  north,  accompanied  by  rain  and 
mist.  Our  sails  are  all  spread,  and  we  are  making 
better  progress  than  heretofore;  but  the  ship  pitches 
and  rolls  considerably. 

August  4.  Monday. — Retired  last  night  about  10, 
and  slept  very  soundly  till  4,  when  I awoke  almost 
suffocated,  on  account  of  the  closeness  of  the  win- 
dows, doors  and  hatches,  they  all  having  been  shut 
during  the  night  to  keep  out  the  water  and  spray 
which  was  dashing  over  the.  ship.  The  wind  had 
much  abated,  and  the  weather  was  fair,  with  the  ther- 
mometer at  58°  in  the  shade.  A little  before  9 A.  M., 
passed  and  spoke  the  Norwegian  barque  Ottillia,  bound 
to  Quebec.  At  10,  passed  a sail  on  our  starboard, 
bound  eastward  ; and  about  noon,  saw  four  small 
whales,  swimming  nearly  abreast  and  very  near  to- 
gether. Their  heads  and  backs  were  at  the  surface 
of  the  water,  and  the  spray,  which  they  blew  up  in 
breathing,  appeared  to  rise  only  a few  feet.  Before 
night  it  became  more  cloudy,  and  the  wind  changed 
to  the  south-west,  and  is  now  blowing  quite  hard. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  119 


August  5.  Tuesday. — I was  awakened  this  morn- 

ing, between  1 and  2 o’clock,  by  the  whistling  of  the 
wind  among  the  shrouds  and  the  motion  of  the  ship, 
and  after  lying  awake  till  half-past  2,  arose  and  went 
on  deck.  The  wind  was  blowing  a brisk  gale  from 
S.  W.  by  S.,  the  sails  were  partly  up,  and  we  were 
plunging  through  the  waves  and  foam  in  a magnifi- 
cent manner.  The  broken  surface  of  the  sea,  as  it 
lashed  the  sides  of  the  ship,  afforded  me  a fine  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  the  sparkling  and  phosphorescence 
of  the  ocean,  which  I continued  to  do  for  half  an 
hour.  The  appearance  was  quite  unlike  that  observ- 
ed on  the  morning  of  the  5th  day  of  my  passage  out. 
The  light,  in  that  case,  seemed  to  be  a uniform  glow 
from  the  whole  surface  of  the  wave  ; but  in  the  pres- 
ent case,  it  consists  principally  of  sparks,  like  those 
emitted  by  millions  of  fire-flies.  The  spark,  or  flash, 
appeared  on  the  surface  of  the  water  ; and  from  it  a 
luminous  point  seemed  to  sink  down  into  the  water, 
illuminating  it  to  some  distance  around,  as  it  descend- 
ed.* About  3,  I retired  to  the  cabin,  where  I lounged 
till  daylight.  While  the  waves  were  running  very 

* The  phosphorescence  and  sparkling  of  the  ocean,  are  now  believed 
to  result  from  two  general  causes — one,  the  emission  of  light  by  very 
minute  animals — and  the  other,  from  the  decomposition  of  particles  of 
organic  matter.  Both  these  causes  abound  most  in  the  tropical  seas, 
and  hence  these  luminous  appearances  are  far  more  frequent  there  than 
in  higher  and  colder  latitudes.  Mr.  Darwin,  who  devoted  much  atten- 
tion to  this  subject,  during  his  voyage  in  the  Beagle  around  the  world, 
thinks  that  the  phosphorescence  of  the  ocean  has  a very  intimate  rela- 
tion to  the  electrical  state  of  the  atmosphere.  See  his  Voyage  of  a, 
*Yuturalist , vol.  1,  p.  208. 


120 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


high,  this  morning,  their  real  height  became  a subject 
of  some  discussion.  At  first,  there  appeared  much 
diversity  of  opinion  ; but  after  watching  them  for 
some  time,  and  making  the  best  estimates  we  could 
from  occular  data,  the  general  conclusion  arrived  at 
was,  that  the  perpendicular  height,  of  a straight  line 
drawn  from  crest  to  crest,  of  two  of  the  highest  waves, 
would  be  about  16  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  de- 
pression between  them,  or  only  8 feet  above  the  mean 
level  of  the  sea.  It  may  seem  surprising  that  I should 
speak  of  the  6ea  running  high,  when  the  waves  are 
raised  only  8 feet  above  the  mean  level  of  the  ocean, 
especially  as  we  are  accustomed  to  read  in  narratives 
of  voyages,  of  waves  running  as  high  as  the  top  of 
the  ship’s  mast — of  swells  mountain  high,  &c.  But 
such  statements,  though  erroneous,  may  be  honestly 
founded  on  appearances.  When  the  sea  is  running 
very  high,  the  ship  may  frequently  be  in  a position  in 
which,  to  a person  on  board,  an  approaching  wave  may 
actually  appear  to  be  higher  than  the  ship’s  mast,  and 
a distant  swell  may  have  no  slight  resemblance  to  a 
mountain.  But  they  are  so  only  in  appearance,  and 
the  appearance  is  occasioned,  principally,  by  the  incli- 
nation of  the  plane  of  the  ship’s  deck  to  the  piano  of 
the  horizon,  or  general  sea-level. 

The  sun  has  been  visible  some  small  part  ©f  the 
day,  and  sufficiently  so  at  noon  to  enable  the  captain  to 
get  an  observation.  Our  longitude,  at  that  time,  was 
about  31Q.  Passed  one  sail  to-day,  some  distance  to 
the  north  of  us,  bound  eastward. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  121 


Aucust  6.  Wednesday . — Went  on  deck  at  half- 
past  2,  in  the  morning,  and  spent  some  time  in  watch- 
ing the  scintilations  of  the  agitated  waters.  Appear- 
ances very  similar  to  those  noticed  yesterday  morning. 
It  was  cloudy,  with  some  rain,  the  wind  strong  from 
S.  S.  E.,  the  sea  running  high,  and  the  ship  pitching 
and  tumbling  badly.  I retired  again  to  my  berth,  and 
slept  till  5,  when  I found  that  the  wind  had  somewhat 
abated,  and  that  the  sea  was  more  calm.  At  7£  A.  M. , 
a small  portion  of  a rainbow  was  seen  in  the  west.  At 
this  timo,  the  barometer  was  the  lowest  that  it  has 
been  at  any  time  since  we  left  Cowes,  being  29.40  in. 
During  the  forenoon,  we  had  frequent  rain-squalls  from 
the  N.  E.  About  noon,  the  wind  came  round  to  N. 
by  W.  and  increased  in  violence  till  nearly  night,  lash- 
ing the  sea  into  a violent  ferment  and  dashing  the 
spray  over  the  upper  deck  to  such  a degree  that  no 
one  could  comfortably  remain  there.  We  have  pass- 
ed two  sails  to-day,  one  to  the  north  of  us  and  the 
other  to  the  southward ; and  I was  told  that  several 
black  fishes  showed  themselves  about  noon,  but  I did 
not  happen  to  be  on  deck  to  see  them.  My  friend 
Ilolabird  informs  me  that  large  numbers  of  them  were 
seen,  during  their  passage  out  in  the  Humboldt. 

We  have  had  a rainbow  in  the  morning,  two  days 
in  succession,  and  the  squally  weather,  yesterday  and 
to-day,  has  been  such  as  to  verify  the  old  proverb — 

“ A rainbow  in  tlie  morning, 

Is  the  sailor’s  warning.” 

I can  hardly  recollect  a case,  in  which  a rainbow  in 

11* 


122 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


the  morning,  cither  on  sea  or  land,  was  not  followed 
by  a squally  day. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  day,  a small  whirlwind,  or 
water  spout,  passed  by  near  the  ship,  whir’ing  the 
spray  upwards  towards  the  clouds,  but  it  was  not  felt 
on  board  the  ship.  I am  told  that  these  whirlwinds 
will  sometimes  cross  a ship,  with  their  force  concen- 
trated within  so  narrow  limits,  as  to  lift  a mast,  with 
its  sails,  out  of  its  place,  without  disturbing  any  thing 
else.  Such  statements,  if  true,  must  constitute  strong 
props  of  Mr.  Espy’s  vortex  theory  of  storms.  The 
wind  is  somewhat  abated  this  merning,  but  the  sea 
continues  greatly  agitated. 

August  7.  Thursday. — The  weather,  this  morning, 
was  still  bwery  and  disagreeable,  but  the  force  of  the 
wind  and  the  turbulence  of  the  sea,  were  very  much 
abated.  The  thermometer,  at  sunrise,  in  the  shade,  stood 
at  5SQ.  Yesterday  morning,  it  was  at  60°.  During 
most  of  the  day,  the  horizon  has  been  clear  and  well 
defined,  and  the  sea  tolerably  calm.  But  just  before 
night,  a low  bank  of  dense  fog  was  seen  extending  for 
a great  distance  along  the  horizon  in  the  south-west, 
strongly  resembling  distant  land  ; but  instead  of  being 
land,  1 learn  that  it  is  only  an  indication  that  we  are 
about  entering  upon  the  cold  and  dreary  banks  of  New- 
foundland. We  have  had,  to-night,  another  most 
splendid  sunset ; I am  not  sure  that  I ever  saw  a more 
beautiful  one,  even  at  Burlington,  so  renowned  for  its 
beautiful  sunsets.  It  seemed  as  though  it  were  hardly 
possible  to  have  a more  perfect  display  of  bright  and 
varied  colors,  lovely  tints  and  delicate  shades,  than  was 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  123 


exhibited  in  the  west  at  the  moment  the  sun  was  dis- 
appearing below  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  The  effect 
of  refraction  in  shortening  the  sun’s  vertical  diameter, 
was  very  perceptible,  as  was  also  the  difference  of  cur- 
viture  in  the  arcs  bounding  the  upper  and  lower  mar- 
gins of  the  sun  ; but  the  distortion  of  the  sun’s  disc 
was  trifling,  compared  with  that  I witnessed  on  the 
Grand  Bank,  in  my  passage  out.  The  weather  is  now 
favorable,  and  our  progress  good. 

August  8.  Friday. — It  was  5 o’clock  when  I went 
on  deck,  this  morning.  Found  the  weather  foggy  and 
chilly,  the  thermometer  standing,  in  the  shade,  at  48°. 
Before  noon,  the  fog  had  mostly  disappeared,  and  the 
sea  had  become  more  calm  and  smooth  than  I had  be- 
fore seen  it  at  any  time  during  my  passage  out  and  so 
far  back.  At  noon,  we  were  on  the  Grand  Banks,  be- 
ing in  lat.  472°,  and  long.  49°,  4 degress  further  north 
than  we  crossed  the  Banks  in  our  passage  out.  Passed 
one  sail  to  the  south  of  us,  headed  east,  the  only  one 
seen  in  two  days.  Sun-fishes,  or  jelly-fishes,  are  seen 
in  considerable  numbers  since  we  came  upon  the  Banks, 
and  floating  branches  of  sea- weed  are  frequently  seen. 
Passed,  also,  this  afternoon,  a large  school  of  porpoises. 
The  air  has  been  uncomfortably  cool  on  deck  during 
the  day,  but  otherwise  the  weather  has  been  remarka- 
bly calm  and  pleasant.  The  temperature,  to-night, 
both  of  the  water  and  the  air,  is  about  56°.  The  wind 
seems  to  be  rising,  this  evening,  and  appearances  indi- 
cate an  approaching  storm.  We  are  now  nine  days 
out  from  Cowes,  and  are  in  about  the  same  longitude 
as  when  four  days  out  from  New  York,  but  are  in  lati- 
tude about  4°  further  north. 


124 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


When  the  weather  is  favorable,  the  passengers  usu- 
ally amuse  themselves  on  deck,  during  the  day;  and 
pass  the  evening  in  the  great  dining-saloon,  either  read- 
ing or  playing  whist.  While  I am  now  writing,  alone 
in  my  state-room,  a large  part  of  the  passengers  are  in 
the  saloon,  over  my  head,  around  the  card-tables ; and 
by  their  boisterous  mirth,  one  might  conjecture  that 
they  were  endeavoring  to  drown  ^heir  cares  in  Cham- 
pagne. I now  occupy  a single  state-room  alone,  one 
having  been  vacated  by  its  occupant  having  taken  a 
berth  on  deck  on  account  of  sea-sickness.  I was  very 
glad  to  leave  my  former  one,  on  account  of  my  chum 
indulging  a little  too  freely  in  Champagne,  and  other 
strong  drinks,  to  be  at  all  times  an  agreeable  compan- 
ion. 

Aug.  9.  Saturday. — I begin  this  day’s  journal,  with 
some  account  of  an  occurrence,  which  I do  not  wish  to 
have  repeated,  and  the  thought  of  which  almost  makes 
me  shudder.  Understanding  that  the  steamers  some 
times  passed  within  sight  of  Cape  Race,  the  southern 
point  of  Newfoundland,  and  knowing  that  we  were  ap- 
proaching the  neighborhood  of  that  island,  I mentioned 
to  one  of  the  mates  last  evening,  that  I would  like  to  be 
informed  of  it,  if  we  should  chance  to  come  in  sight  of 
land.  He  replied  that,  on  account  of  the  density  of  the 
fog,  we  should  not,  probably,  see  land  at  all,  and,  if  we 
did,  we  should  not  come  in  sight  of  it  before  4 or  5 
o'clock,  next  morning.  I retired  to  my  berth  about  10, 
and  slept  very  soundly  till  midnight,  when  I awoke 
and  lay  awake  for  some  time ; but  finally  got  into  a 
drowse,  from  which  I was  suddenly  awakened  at  half 
past  one.  A.  M.,  by  a violent  concussion  of  the  ship  and 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  125 


the  stopping  of  the  engine,  which  were  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  a careening  of  the  ship,  as  though  it  would 
roll  entirely  over  upon  its  side.  I felt  it  to  be  necessary 
to  seize  hold  upon  the  side  of  my  berth,  to  prevent  being 
rolled  out.  Immediately  I perceived  that,  there  was 
much  noise  and  bustle  in  all  parts  of  the  ship,  and, 
knowing  something  must  be  wrong,  I hastened  on  my 
clothes,  and  was  leaving  my  state-room  to  go  on  deck, 
when  I met  my  friend  Holabird,  who,  fearing  I was  not 
aware  of  our  critical  situation,  had  kindly  come  down 
to  let  me  know  that,  we  had  struck  upon  Cape  Race.  I 
hastened  upon  deck,  and  found  our  ship  with  her  star- 
board side  towards  a long  line  of  precipitous  rocks,  ris- 
ing abruptly  out  of  the  ocean,  and  but  a few  rods  from 
us.  But  by  this  time,  the  engine  was  again  in  motion, 
and  we  were  now  moving  forward,  nearly  parallel  to 
the  cliff ; and  assurances  that  the  ship  had  sustained  no 
injury,  soon  relieved  us  from  our  great  anxiety. 

It  appeared  that,  at  the  time  of  the  occurrence  above 
mentioned,  in  addition  to  the  usual  watch,  the  captain 
and  one  of  the  mates  were  on  deck ; but  that  the  rocks 
were  not  discovered,  till  the  ship  was  close  upon  them, 
and  headed  almost  directly  towards  them.  Upon  seeing 
the  danger,  the  captain  instantly  gave  the  signal  to  stop 
the  engine  and  port  the  helm,  by  which  the  bow  of  the 
ship  was  thrown  round  to  the  larboard,  presenting  the 
starboard  side  to  the  shore,  towards  which  it  continued 
to  approach  by  the  momentum  previously  acquired,  till 
the  keel  struck  the  bottom  ; but,  the  motion  being  side- 
wise,  the  momentum  was  not  expended  on  the  point  of 
contact,  but  in  causing  the  ship  to  careen,  or  roll  towards 
the  shore.  This  sudden  bringing  round  the  ship’s  side 


12G 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


towards  the  rocks,  was,  probably,  the  means  of  saving 
it,  and  all  on  board,  from  destruction.  PTad  it  struck  in 
the  direction  in  which  it  was  previously  moving,  it 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  wrecked,  and 
whether  any  on  board  would,  in  that  case,  have  reached 
the  shore,  is  quite  uncertain.*  The  life-boats  on  beard 
were  not  sufficient  to  carry  one  half  of  the  passengers 
and  crew,  and  the  scramble  for  places  might  have  ren- 
dered them  useless  ; and  if  they  had  been  successfully 
filled  and  got  clear  of  the  sinking  ship,  there  would  be 
no  certainty  that  a landing  could  be  effected,  on  account 
of  the  surf  and  precipitous  nature  of  the  shore.  And  in 
case  a landing  was  effected,  the  difficulties  would  not 

* The  captain  was  not  disposed  to  admit  that  the  ship  did  actually 
strike  the  bottom  at  all.  He  pronounced  the  shock  and  careening  of  the 
ship,  to  be  the  effect  of  stopping  the  engine  suddenly,  and  of  bringing 
round  the  helm  forcibty,  at  the  same  time,  in  order  to  change  the 
ship's  course.  But  he  appeared  to  be  alone  in  that  opinion.  All  else  on 
board  were  very  sure  that  she  struck ; and  among  them  were  several  old 
and  experienced  sea-captains. 

The  arc  of  the  great  circle,  which  marks  the  shortest  distance,  along 
the  surface  of  the  globe,  between  New  York  and  Cowes,  passes  over  the 
south  part  of  Newfoundland,  and,  at  proper  seasons  of  the  year,  naviga- 
tors endeavor  to  shorten  their  voyage,  by  keeping  as  close  as  practicable 
to  this  arc.  Consequently,  they  endeavor  to  pass  as  near  to  Cape  Race, 
as  is  consistent  with  a due  regird  to  safety.  L'ut  the  almost  perpetual 
cloudiness  and  fogs,  and  the  many  currents  in  that  part  of  the  ocean, 
render  it  impossible  to  know,  at  all  times,  the  ship’s  true  place.  At  the 
time  of  our  peril,  the  Humboldt  was  evidently  several  hours  before  her 
reckoning.  But,  to  exculpate  Capt.  L.  from  blame,  in  this  case,  l would 
remark  that,  the  Humboldt's  compass  traversed  so  badly,  that  little  con- 
fidence could  be  placed  in  it,  and  that  for  some  time  previous  to  reaching 
Cape  Race,  the  weather  had  been  so  cloudy  and  foggy,  as  to  render  ob- 
servations for  time  and  place  impracticable. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  127 


be  over ; the  region  was  cold,  barren  and  uninhabited, 
and  the  distance  to  the  nearest  settlement,  many  miles. 

In  my  passage  outward  and  back,  I have  had  occa- 
sion, frequently,  to  reflect  upon  the  scanty  provision 
made  on  our  ships,  for  the  safety  of  those  on  board,  in 
case  of  accident,  and  the  occurrence  of  this  morning,  is 
well  calculated  to  revive  the  reflection.  Supposing  one 
of  these  ships  strike  on  a rock,  an  iceberg,  or  another 
ship,  or  be  on  fire,  and  it  is  necessary  to  abandon  her, 
and  there  be  life-boats  sufficient  to  carry  only  one  half 
on  board,  there  would  be  an  immediate  rush  to  these 
boats,  and,  each  consulting  only  his  own  safety,  there 
would  be  such  a struggle  for  place,  that  the  boats  would 
be  capsized  or  swamped,  and  all  would,  probably,  per- 
ish. On  the  other  hand,  if  it  were  known  that  the  safety 
boats  were  sufficient  to  receive  every  soul  on  board,  this 
scramble  for  place  would  not  occur,  and  the  probability 
of  all  being  saved,  would  be  very  much  greater,  than 
that  any  would  escape,  in  a case  like  the  former.  It 
appears  to  me  that  every  ocean  steamer  had  ought  to  be 
obliged,  by  law,  to  carry  a sufficient  number  of  life-boats, 
to  receive  on  board  them,  every  soul  in  the  ship,  in  case 
of  accident.  The  metalic  life-boats  are  now  made  so 
light  that  their  weight  can  form  no  objection,  and  to 
prevent  their  occupying  too  much  room  on  deck,  they 
might  be  nested  into  one  another,  like  measures. 

Passed  an  ocean  steamer,  supposed  to  be  one  of  the 
Cunard  line,  bound  eastward,  and  several  sailing  ves- 
sels, to-day. 

August  10.  Sunday. — Morning  foggy  and  rainy,  but 
the  sea  quite  tranquil.  Before  noon  it  cleared  away, 
and  the  weather  became  quite  pleasant  and  cpmfortable, 


128 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


the  temperature  having  become  warmer  and  the  air  drier 
than  it  had  been  for  a long  time,  and  it  was  generally 
remarked  that,  the  feeling  of  the  air  and  the  aspect  of 
the  heavens,  had  become  decidedly  American. 

Towards  noon,  Capt.  Lines  informed  me  that,  there 
had  been  a consultation  among  the  passengers,  and  that 
they  were  generally  desirous  of  having  religious  services 
on  board,  and  had  requested  him  to  invite  me  to  offi- 
ciate. Knowing  that  our  exposure  to  danger  and  our 
providential  escape,  yesterday  morning,  had  produced 
very  serious  impressions  upon  the  minds  of  many  on 
board,  I consented,  and  half  past  I,  P.  M.,  was  appointed 
as  the  time  for  the  services  to  commence. 

At  the  time  appointed,  a very  large  proportion  of 
those  on  board,  assembled  in  the  dining  saloon,  where 
I read  the  afternoon  services  for  the  eighth  Sunday  after 
Trinity,  with  the  exception  of  the  substitution  of  the 
107th  Psalm,  for  the  Psalms  for  the  day.  and  the  addi- 
tion of  the  following  collect,  which  I had  endeavored  to 
adapt  to  the  occasion : 

COLLECT. 

Most  gracious  Lord,  -whose  mercies  are  over  all  thy  works,  we  praise 
and  magnify  thy  glorious  name,  that  thou  hast  been  pleased  to  conduct 
this  ship  and  all  on  board,  thus  far  in  s afety  through  the  perils  of  the 
great  deep.  Make  us  duly  sensible  of  thy  merciful  providence  towards 
us,  when  brought,  apparently,  upon  the  brink  of  destniction,  thou 
didst  snatch  us  from  the  j iws  of  death,  and  didst  remove  from  us  tho 
tearfulness  and  anxiety  with  which  we  ha  I been  so  suldenly  overwhelmed. 
Continue  to  us,  0 Lord,  thy  gracious  guidance  and  protection  during 
the  remainder  of  our  voyage,  and  when  thou  hast  brought  us  in  safety 
to  the  haven  where  we  would  be,  enable  us  to  express  our  thankfulness, 
by  a holy  tru3t  in  thy  providence,  and  a willing  obedience  to  all  thy  laws, 
through  Jesus  Cueist,  our  Redeemer.  Amen. 

My  serrqpn  was  founded  on  the  18th  versa  of  the  4th 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  120 


chapter  of  the  second  epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  In  it  I 
attempted  a comparison  between  the  mariner  upon  the 
ocean,  and  the  Christian  upon  the  voyage  of  life,  and 
to  show  that  both  proceeded  by  faith,  rather  than  sight; 
that  both  were  looking  at  objects  unseen,  except  by  faith 
— the  mariner  to  the  port  to  which  he  is  bound,  and  the 
Christian  to  the  haven  of  eternal  rest.  The  audience 
was  very  attentive,  and  though  few  could  take  an  audi- 
ble part  in  the  services,  for  want  of  prayer  books,  (a 
want  on  this  ship  which  I hope  our  Prayer  Book  Socie- 
ties will  soon  supply,)  they  appeared  generally  to  be 
much  interested  in  them. 

The  weather,  since  10  o’clock  this  morning,  has  been 
very  fine,  and  the  monotony  of  the  ocean  has  been  re- 
lieved by  the  sight  of  a large  number  of  sail,  moving  in 
different  directions.  About  sunset,  we  passed  through 
the  largest  school  of  Porpoises  that  I have  ever  yet  seen. 
The  sea  seemed  to  be  literally  alive  with  them,  for  miles 
around.  They  were  leaping  out  of  the  water,  skipping 
along  the  surface  and  cutting  all  manner  of  capers.  At 
one  time  I noticed  several  of  them  just  below  the  surface 
of  the  water,  by  the  side  of  the  ship,  swimming  the 
same  way  the  ship  was  running,  as  if  in  a race  with  it, 
and,  although  the  ship  was  running  at  the  rate  of  11 
miles  an  hour,  they  seemed  easily  to  keep  pace  with  it. 
There  must  have  been,  at  least,  a thousand  Porpoises  in 
sight  from  the  ship ; and  they  were  accompanied,  as 
usual,  by  a large  number  of  Petrels  and  Gullsi  Among 
the  Petrels  there  seemed  to  be  many  belonging  to  a 
larger  species  than  those  I had  usually  seen.  The  sun- 
set to-night  was  very  beautiful,  resembling  one  of  our 
finest  sun-sets  at  Burlington.  As  the  sun  was  sinking 


180 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


beneath  the  ocean  in  the  west,  the  full-orbed  moon  was 
at  the  same  time,  rising  in  the  east,  forming  altogether, 
a most  grand  and  interesting  spectacle.  To-night,  it  is 
said,  we  shall  pass  Halifax,  in  Nova  Scotia. 

August  11.  Monday. — Rose  about  5,  went  on  deck, 
and  found  the  morning  delightful,  and  the  prospect 
cheered  by  the  presence  of  a large  number  of  fishing 
vessels.  By  the  help  of  his  glass,  the  Captain  was  able 
to  enumerate  11  sail,  in  one  small  section  of  the  horizon 
in  the  north  west,  while  many  others  were  in  sight,  in 
other  directions.  These  fishing  vessels  are  said  to  be 
lying  up  St.  George's  Bank.  Have  noticed,  to-day, 
much  sea- weed  floating  in  the  ocean ; but,  as  the  deck  is 
about  20  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  I was  una- 
ble to  secure  any  specimens  of  it.  About  3 P.  M.,  I 
noticed,  what  appeared  to  me  like  a long  line  of  break- 
ers, crossing  our  course  at  some  distance  ahead.  The 
sea  beyond,  appeared  in  great  commotion,  and  to  be 
higher  than  nearer  the  ship.  We  soon  entered  upon 
these  agitated  waters,  but  found  no  increase  of  wind, 
and  were  told  that  the  phenomenon  was  occasioned  by 
the  tide  running  northwardly,  over  the  shoals  toward/ 
the  bay  of  Fundy.  About  sun-set.  a steamer  was  seqh 
some  15  miles  to  the  south-east  of  us,  headed  towards 
New- York,  and  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  Africa,  which 
was  to  leave  Liverpool  on  the  2d  inst.  We  have  had 
another  beautiful  sun-setting  and  moon-rising,  and  the 
sea  is  now  quite  calm,  but  the  fogs  seem  to  be  gathering 
around  us. 

August  12.  Tuesday. — Was  awakened  a little  after 

midnight  by  the  stopping  of  the  engine,  and  arose  and 
went  on  deck  to  learn  the  cause,  when  I war  told  it  was 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  131 


for  the  purpose  of  taking  soundings,  we  being  then  on 
Nantucket  shoals.  The  same  operation  was  repeated 
several  times  before  morning,  by  which  our  progress  was 
much  hindered;  but  between  4 and  5 A.  M.,  we  took  a 
pilot  on  board,  to  conduct  the  ship  into  New  York, 
which  we  hoped  to  reach  in  the  evening.  About  10 
A.  M.,  a steamer  could  be  discerned  in  the  distance 
ahead  of  us,  supposed  to  be  the  same  seen  last  night, 
and  to  have  passed  us  during  our  delay  on  the  shoals. 
Came  in  sight  of  Long  Island,  about  1 P.  M.  Ther- 
mometer in  the  shade  81  This  morning,  a large  shark 
was  seen  over  the  side  of  the  ship ; was  not  on  deck  at 
the  time. 

H ive  passed  many  sail  to-day,  and  during  the  after- 
noon had  a good  view  of  the  light-house  at  Fire  Island, 
a locality  rendered  memorable  by  the  shipwreck,  in 
which  the  gifted  Countess  D'Ossili  (Miss  Fuller,)  lost 
her  life,  and  the  statue  of  John  C.  Calhoun  was  sunk. 
About  the  same  time,  Neversink,  in  New  Jersey,  hove 
in  sight.  We  passed  Sandy  Hook,  just  as  the  full-orbed 
moon  was  rising,  red  as  blood,  from  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean,  and  came  in  sight  of  the  numerous  lights,  which 
were  just  beginning  to  twinkle  along  the  Jersey  shore. 
We  reached  the  quarantine  ground  about  9 in  the  eve- 
ning, where  we  were  detained  an  hour,  before  we  could 
get  a physician  on  board,  and  have  permission  to  pro- 
ceed. At  length  we  were  again  underway,  and  at  11 
o’clock,  the  Humboldt  was  safely  moored  at  her  pier, 
No.  4.  North  River.  Many  of  the  passengers  are  going 
on  shore,  at  this  late  hour,  but  I have  concluded  to 
remain  on  board  till  morning. 

Having  shown  Capt.  Lines  my  abstract  of  the  Log  of 


132 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


the  Steamship  Franklin,  during  our  passage  out,  {see 
page  28,)  he,  to-day,  very  generously  furnished  me  with 
the  following  abstract  of  his  own  Log-book,  during  our 
present  voyage. 


ABSTRACT  LOG. 

Cowes  to  New  York — Steam  Ship  Humboldt. 
D.  LINES,  COMMANDER. 


Date 

Latitude! 

Long. 

Dist. 

Thermo. 

Barom. 

Rotations 

Coal. 

Noon. 

North. 

West. 

Run. 

Air. 

1 

Wat’r 

Inches. 

Engine. 

Tons. 

July 

31 

49° 

50’ 

4° 

30' 

140 

68* 

62G 

29,80 

9,077 

44  1 

|Aug. 

1! 

49 

50] 

9 

47 

204 

66 

62  ! 

29,80 

14,076 

59 

“ 

2 

49 

50 

14 

37 

186; 

66 

62 

29,50 

11,783 

50 

It 

3! 

49 

50 

, 19 

35 

190; 

67 

63 

29,70 

11,971 

51 

(( 

4 

49 

27 

25 

30 

230 

64 

63 

29,90 

15,410 

69 

(( 

5 

49 

5 

i 31 

30 

. 238! 

67  I 

63 

29,60 

15,730 

63  i 

u 

6 

48 

40 

37 

0 

218 

: 62  1 

62 

29,40 

15,460 

69  I 

(« 

7 

48 

21 

43 

5 

245 

61 

61 

29,70 

16,057 

64  | 

a 

8 

1 47 

19 

1 49 

20 

260 

| 56 

52 

30,00 

18,783 

62  j 

(< 

9 

! 45 

55 

155 

33 

265 

60 

56 

29,90 

18,708 

64  i 

<( 

10 

i 44 

18 

I61 

15 

256 

163 

I 60 

29,50 

18,622 

55 

u 

11 

! 42 

9 

i 66 

30 

256 

66 

! 63 

29,80 

19,445 

63 

~u 

12 

40 

37 

72 

0 

260 

66 

66 

29,90 

19,334 

66  ' 

P. 

M. 

40 

42 

74 

2 

120 

; 

i 

8,350 

29  1 

j 

3068 

212,806 

808  j 

The  Humboldt  left  Cowes,  at  10  o’clock  in  the  eve- 
ning of  the  30th  of  July,  and  arrived  at  New  York  at 
1 1 o’clock  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  August.  Hence, 
allowing  five  hours  for  difference  of  longitude,  the  total 
time  from  Cowes  to  New  York,  was  13  days  and  6 
hours — 40  hours  longer  than  my  passage  out  from  New 
York  to  Cowes,  in  the  Franklin. 

In  the  following  Chart,  the  dotted  line  marks  the 
Franklin’s  passage  out,  and  the  continuous  line  the 
Humboldt’s  passage  back.  The  number  show  the  ship’s 
position  at  noon,  on  the  successive  days  of  each  voyage. 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  123 


CHART — Routes  of  the  Steam-Ships  Franklin  and  Humboldt. 


70  60  50  40  30  20  10  0 


August  13.  Wednesday. — After  the  inspection  of  my 
baggage  by  the  Custom  House  officer,  I had  it  transfer- 
red to  the  Steamer  Troy,  which  was  to  leave  for  Troy 
in  the  evening,  and  then  spent  the  day  in  the  city.  I 
could  see  very  much  in  New-York,  which  contrasted 
favorably  with  what  I had  seen  in  Paris  and  London  : 
but,  in  one  thing,  that  of  cleanliness,  I was  sorry  to  no- 
tice that  she  fell  far  behind  those  old  foreign  cities.  Be- 
tween 5 and  6 P.  M.,  I came  on  board  the  Troy,  which 
left  New-York  a little  after  6.  The  day  has  been  ex- 
ceedingly warm,  and  the  heat  more  oppressive  than  at 
any  time  since  I left  Burlington. 

August  14.  Thursday. — Was  awakened  at  3 A.  M., 
by  the  stopping  of  the  engine.  Went  on  deck  and  found 
the  boat  stuck  in  the  mud,  some  20  miles  below  Albany. 
We  got  underway  again,  after  a delay  of  about  an  hour, 
and  reached  Troy  a little  after  5.  Left,  in  the  cars  for 
Whitehall,  at  6,  went  on  board  the  Steamer  United 
States,  Capt.  Davis,  at  Whitehall,  at  9,  A.  M.,  and  ar- 
rived at  Burlington  at  4,  P.  M.,  having  been  absent  11 
weeks  and  2 days,  of  which  2 weeks  were  spent  in  Paris 
and  5 in  London,  and  having  travelled  about  7500  miles. 

And  now  I close  my  journal : grateful  te  those,  whose 
liberality  has  enabled  me  to  see  and  enjoy  so  much,  and 
to  that  God,  who  has  watched  over,  protected  and  re- 
turned me  in  safety  and  improved  health  to  my  dear 
family,  and  my  many  kind  friends. 


12* 


134 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


NOTES. 


LONDON. 

Before  taking  my  final  leave  of  London.  I had  intended 
to  enter  on  my  journal,  some  general  observations  re- 
specting that  wonderful  metropolis.  But  as  I found  no 
time  to  carry  out  that  intention,  I will  here  append  a 
few  remarks. 

London  as  it  now  exists,  comprises  what  were,  an- 
ciently, the  city  of  London  and  its  liberties,  the  city  of 
Westminster,  the  Tower  hamlets,  and  the  boroughs  of 
Finsbury,  Marylebone,  Southwark  and  Lambeth,  with 
their  respective  suburbs;  besides  several  villages  in 
Middlesex  and  Surry.  All  these,  though  originally  dis- 
tinct, are  now  swallowed  up  in  London,  the  great  Me- 
tropolis of  the  British  Empire. 

The  territory  occupied  by  London  as  it  is,  is  oval,  or 
egg-shaped.  Its  longest  diameter  is  from  east  to  west — 
from  Bow  to  Hammersmith,  and  measures  11  miles.  Its 
width  from  north  to  south — from  Holloway  to  Stockwell, 
is  6 miles.  Its  circumference,  exceeds  30  miles,  and  its 
area,  including  the  river,  is  about  40  square  miles.  The 
width  of  the  Thames  at  London  Bridge,  is  310  yards, 
at  Waterloo  Bridge  400,  and  about  the  same  at  the 
Tunnel.  The  length  of  the  Thames  within  the  Me- 
tropolis, is  7 miles,  and  it  is  crossed  by  7 bridges,  two 
of  which  are  iron,  and  the  others  stone.  The  sweep  of 
the  tide  at  London  Bridge  is  19  feet,  and  the  tide  flows 
up  the  Thames  15  miles  above  that  Bridge.  No  large 
shipping  is  seen  above  London  Bridge,  but  the  river  be- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  135 


low,  for  three  or  four  miles,  and  all  the  extensive  col- 
lateral docks,  are  filled  with  ships. 

The  statistics  of  London  are  such  as  to  appear  almost 
incredible,  even  to  a person  who  has  seen  it.  It  is  stated 
that  it  contains  more  than  80  parks  and  squares,  more 
than  10,000  streets,  lanes  and  courts,  250,000  houses, 
and  2,100,000  inhabitants,  besides,  100,000  strangers. 
Of  these  180,000  houses  and  1,500,000  inhabitants  are 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  70,000  houses  and 
700,000  inhabitants,  are  on  the  south  side. 

The  places  of  public  worship,  in  London,  amount  to 
upwards  of  750.  Of  these,  340  are  Episcopal  churches 
or  chapels,  20  belong  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  14  to  for- 
eign Protestants,  370  to  different  Protestant  dissenters  : 
and  there  are  8 Jewish  synagogues.  St.  Paul’s  Cathe- 
dral and  Westminster  Abbey,  the  two  most  interesting 
religious  edifices,  have  been  mentioned  in  my  journal. 

The  royal  palaces  and  mansions  of  the  nobility  in  and 
about  London,  are  very  numerous,  and  some  of  them 
very  large  and  elegant.  Buckingham  Palace,  situated 
at  the  west  end  of  St.  James’  Park,  and  south  of  Green 
Park,  is  the  present  town  residence  of  Her  Majesty. 
Queen  Victoria,  and  is  a very  large  and  imposing  mass 
of  buildings.  Its  situation  is  retired,  airy  and  delightful. 

The  new  Houses  of  Parliament,  when  completed,  will 
constitute  the  largest  structure  in  London,  the  Crystal 
Palace  only  excepted.  It  presents  a noble  eastern  front- 
age, towards  the  river  of  nearly  1000  feet  in  length,  and 
covers  an  area  of  nine  acres.  The  height  of  its  great 
tower  is  to  be  346  feet.  Beside  the  splendid  rooms 
of  the  two  houses  of  Parliament,  the  number  of  official 
residences,  offices,  committee-rooms,  courts,  lobbies, 


136 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


corridors,  dining  and  washing-rooms,  &c.,  is  astonish- 
ingly great.  Its  cubic  contents  exceed  15,000,000  feet, 
being  greater,  by  one  half,  than  St.  Paul's.  It  contains 
nearly  600  distinct  apartments,  among  which  is  to  be 
a chapel  for  divine  worship.  The  old  houses  of  Parlia- 
ment were  destroyed  by  fire,  October  15,  1S34,  and 
these  were  commenced  in  1840.  The  best  view  of  them 
is  from  the  river,  or  rather,  from  the  opposite  bank, 
between  Westminster  bridge  and  Lambeth  Palace. 

London  is  now,  not  merely  the  largest  city  in  the 
known  world,  but  it  exceeds  in  opulence,  splendor  and 
luxury,  (perhaps  in  misery,)  all  that  ever  was  recorded 
of  any  city.  It  may  safely  be  affirmed  to  be  the  largest 
congregate  mass  of  human  life,  arts,  science,  wealth, 
power  and  architectural  splendor,  which  exists,  or  ever 
has  existed  within  the  known  annals  of  mankind.  It 
contains,  upon  a territory  about  the  size  of  a township 
seven  miles  square,  a population  more  than  six  times  as 
great  as  that  of  the  whole  State  of  Vermont,  or  equal 
to  350  such  villages  as  Burlington. 

London,  though  abounding  in  parks  and  palaces  and 
theatres — though  abounding  in  religious,  literary  and 
scientific  establishments,  is  yet,  emphatically  a business 
place.  It  is  the  great  central  manufactory  and  ware- 
house of  the  world.  Every  morning,  hundreds — yea, 
thousands  of  the  lofty  chimnies  of  her  factories,  are  seen 
belching  forth  volumes  of  black  smoke,  and  before  noon, 
the  heavens  are  usually  obscured,  and  the  city  envelop- 
ed in  a dark,  sooty  cloud.  This  smoke  condenses  upon 
the  buildings  and  other  objects,  giving  the  whole  city  a 
dirty  and  dingy  aspect.  The  Portland  and  most  other 
kinds  of  stone,  used  in  building,  is  naturally  of  a light 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  137 


cream  color,  or  nearly  white,  but  here,  it  soon  becomes 
blackened  and  stained,  giving  to  the  finest  and  most  ex- 
pensive building  a most  unsightly  aspect. 

The  fogs,  and  smoke,  and  dust,  and  noise  of  London 
are  subjects  of  very  general  remark,  and  for  very  good 
reasons  with  regard  to  most  of  them.  But  the  burden 
of  these  is  confined  chiefly  to  the  line  of  the  great 
thoroughfares  along  the  river.  Back  from  the  river,  in 
the  higher  and  newer  parts  of  the  city,  the  annoyance 
from  these  causes,  is  comparatively  trifling.  Along 
Fleet  street,  the  Strand  and  Piccadilly  street,  during  the 
continuance  of  the  Exhibition,  there  were,  from  8 in  the 
morning  till  10  at  night,  two  continuous  streams  of  om- 
nibuses and  other  carriages,  one  stream  running  to,  and 
the  other  from  the  Crystal  Palace  ; and  the  rattle  and 
thunder  of  so  many  heavy  carriages,  caused  the  very 
earth  to  tremble.  These  carriages  succeeded  each  other 
so  closely,  that  a person  was  often  obliged  to  wait  for  a 
considerable  time  before  he  could  find  suffiicient  space 
between  them,  to  allow  him  to  cross  the  street.  In  the 
United  States,  carriages  are  obliged,  or  at  least,  are  ex- 
pected, to  keep  the  right  hand  side  of  the  way  in  pass- 
ing other  carriages  moving  in  an  opposite  direction.  But 
the  reverse  of  this  is  the  case  here.  Here  all  carriages 
are  obliged  to  keep  the  left  hand  side,  and.  effectually  to 
enforce  the  observance  of  this  rule,  policemen  were  sta- 
tioned, at  short  distances,  all  along  the  centre  of  Picca- 
dilly street,  who  did  not  allow  a carriage  to  pass  them 
ill  violation  of  it. 

The  Police  regulations  are,  probably,  not  surpassed 
by  those  of  any  other  city  in  the  world.  The  average 
amount  of  police  force,  is  about  5000.  but  on  account  of 


13S 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


the  great  influx  of  foreigners  to  the  Exhibition,  it  has 
been  much  increased  this  year.  The  policemen  are  dis- 
tinguished by  a modest  blue  uniform  coat,  with  their  let- 
ter and  number  marked  upon  its  standing  collar.  They 
are  distributed  over  the  whole  city,  and  are,  therefore, 
every  whore  at  hand,  and  always  ready  to  answer  any 
inquiries,  or  to  guide  you  to  any  place  you  may  wish 
to  find.  During  my  five  weeks’  stay  in  London,  I 
never  knew,  or  heard  of  any  one,  making  inquiries  of  a 
policeman,  whose  application  was  not  kindly  received 
and  attended  to;  and  I have  frequently  seen  them  put 
themselves  to  considerable  trouble,  to  show  people  on 
their  way. 

In  the  midst  of  the  vast  throngs  in  the  streets  of  Lon- 
don, I noticed  very  little  of  drunkenness,  quarreling,  or 
disorder  of  any  kind.  Nearly  all  seemed  intent  solely 
upon  their  own  pursuits,  showing  little  disposition  to 
notice  or  intermeddle  in  the  affairs  of  others.  I do  not 
recollect  to  have  noticed  more  than  one  drunken  man 
who  manifested  any  disposition  to  produce  disturbance 
in  the  streets,  and  he  was  soon  taken  in  charge  by  the 
police. 

In  judging  of  the  comparative  advantages  of  London 
and  Paris,  as  places  of  residence,  persons  will  be  influ- 
enced very  much  by  their  tastes,  habits  and  objects. 
The  climate  of  Paris  is  undoubtedly  most  pleasant.  It 
has  less  fog  and  smoke,  and  the  streets,  generally,  are 
cleaner.  But  in  parks  and  open  squares,  the  newer  parts 
of  London  have  the  advantage  over  Paris.  In  the 
northern  and  western  parts  of  London,  the  streets  are, 
for  the  most  part,  straight,  broad,  well  paved,  clean  and 
airy,  and  about  one  eighth  part  of  the  whole  territory  is 


ISO 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

reserved  for  public  squares.  These  squares  are,  in  many 
cases,  inclosed  by  handsome  iron  fences,  and  within,  are 
planted  with  flowers,  shrubs  and  shade  trees,  forming 
cool  and  delightful  walks,  during  the  hot  weather ; and 
some  of  them  are  furnished  with  the  additional  luxury 
of  refreshing  fountains. 

St.  Paul’s,  in  London,  is  in  latitude  51°  32',  and  in 
longitude  5'  37' ; west  from  Greenwich  Observatory. 
The  following  are  the  distances  from  London  to  impor- 


taut  places,  viz : 
To  Windsor 

20 

To  Amsterdam 

190 

“ Oxford  - 

- 5G 

“ Berlin  - 

- 540 

“ Southampton 

SO 

“ Copenhagen 

G10 

“ Bristol  - 

- 118 

“ St.  Petersburgh 

- 1140 

“ Birmingham 

112 

“ Vienna 

820 

“ York  - 

- 196 

■“  Constantinople 

- 1660 

* ‘ Liverpool  - 

201 

“ Home 

950 

“ Edinburgh 

- 895 

“ Madrid  - 

- 860 

“ Dublin 

838 

“ Lisbon 

850 

“ Paris 

- 225 

“ New  York 

- 3200 

THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

The  idea  of  a Grand  Exhibition  of  the  Works  of  In- 
dustry of  all  Nations,  seems  to  have  originated  with 
Prince  Albert,  and  by  him,  seconded  by  the  efforts  of 
the  Society  of  Arts,  to  have  been  embodied  into  a reality. 
Mainly  through  his  instrumentality,  a Royal  Warrant 
was  granted,  Jan.  3,  1850,  appointing  a Board  of  Com- 
missioners to  consider  the  matter,  and  on  the  15th  of 
August  following,  the  Commission  was  incorporated' by 
a Royal  Charter.  Contributions  and  subscriptions  were 
then  sought,  and  also,  designs  and  plans  of  a building 


140 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS; 


suitable  to  serve  the  purposes  of  such  an  Exhibition. 
At  length  after  much  perplexity  and  delay,  a plan  and 
estimate  were  submitted  by  Mr.  Paxton,  then  Head  Gar- 
dener at  Chatworth,  which  were  adopted  by  the  Com- 
mission, and  a contract  was  made  with  Messrs.  Fox  and 
Henderson,  for  the  erection  of  the  Crystal  Palace.  The 
Commission  were  to  pay  £76,000  for  the  construction  of 
the  building,  and  the  materials  were  to  belong  to  the 
contractors,  and  be  removed  by  them  at  the  close  of  the 
Exhibition;  but,  if  the  Commission  should  conclude, 
permanently,  to  retain  the  building,  they  could  do  it,  by 
the  payment  of  £150,000  to  the  contractors.  The 
building  was  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  opening  of  the 
Exhibition  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1851. 

The  Crystal  Palace  is  situated  in  Hyde  Park,  and 
very  near  the  south  side.  It  is  built  in  the  form  of  a 
parallelogram  and  is  made  entirely  of  glass  and  iron, 
excepting  a ceiling  of  boards  around  the  base,  for  the 
convenience  of  hanging  up  articles  for  exhibition,  and 
where  glass  would  be  in  great  danger  of  being  broken. 
The  lower  floor  is  of  trellis-boards,  laid  upon  sleepers, 
with  open  spaces  between  the  boards  about  an  inch  wide. 
The  gallery  floors  are  without  openings. 

The  length  of  the  building  is  1848  feet — a number 
less,  by  3 than  1851,  the  date  of  the  Exhibition.  The 
width  of  the  building  is  408  feet,  with  an  addition  on 
the  north  side  of  936  feet  and  48  wide.  The  height  of 
the  main  building  is  76  feet,  but  nearly  midway  it  is 
crossed  by  a transept  with  a semi-circular  roof,  made 
108  feet  high,  for  the  purpose  of  inclosing  a group  of 
trees.  It  also  serves  to  improve  the  appearance  of  the 
building.  The  main  parallelogram  is  formed,  longitu- 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  141 


dinally,  into  11  divisions,  which  are,  alternately,  24  and 
48  feet  wide,  with  the  exception  of  the  great  central 
walk,  or  nave,  which  is  72  feet  wide.  The  entire  area 
of  the  ground  floor  is  798,912  square  feet,  or  a little  over 
18]  acres.  The  building  is  in  three  lofts,  one  behind 
another,  so  that  the  ends  show  as  a pyramid  of  three 
steps,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  cut  introduced  as  a frontis- 
piece to  this  volume. 

The  columns  are  of  iron,  cast  hollow,  and,  for  the 
most  part,  stand  24  feet  apart  each  way.  The  number 
of  columns  is  stated  to  be  3230.  The  number  of  cast-iron 
girders  is  2244,  for  supporting  the  galleries  and  roofs, 
with  1128  intermediate  bearers,  besides  358  wrought- 
iron  trusses.  The  roof,  which  consists  of  glass  and  iron 
is  thrown  into  ridges  and  vallies,  8 feet  across,  and  run- 
ning transversely ; and  these  vallies  are  directed  to  the 
heads  of  the  several  columns,  so  that  the  water  which 
falls  on  the  various  sections  of  the  roof,  is  conveyed  im- 
mediately into  the  heads  of  the  hollow  columns,  and 
through  them  to  the  earth  beneath.  The  length  of  all 
these  gutters  is  44  miles.  There  are  in  the  building,  more 
than  200  miles  of  sash  bars,  and  900,000  superficial  feet 
of  glass.  The  entrances  to  the  building  are  at  the  south 
end  of  the  transept,  and  at  the  east  and  west  end  of  the 
main  building.  There  are  several  other  places  of  exit 
along  the  sides  of  the  building. 

The  Crystal  Palace  being  completed,  and  the  neces- 
sary arrangements  made,  the  Great  Exhibition  was 
opened  with  much  form  and  ceremony,  on  the  1st  day 
of  May,  1851.  The  principal  exercises  on  the  occasion 
were  : An  Address  to  the  Queen,  from  the  Royal  Com- 
mission, read  by  His  Royal  Highness,  Prince  Albert ; 


142 


JOURNAL  OF  A TRIP  TO  PARIS, 


Her  Majesty’s  Reply;  and  a Prayer  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  From  this  time,  up  to  the  final  close  of 
the  Exhibition,  on  the  15th  of  October,  the  Palace  was 
continually  thronged  with  Visitants,  varying  from 
25,000  to  80,000,  daily.  The  price  of  admission  to  the 
Exhibition,  Varied  at  the  different  stages  of  it,  and  on 
different  days  of  the  week.  At  the  opening,  season 
tickets  were  sold  for  very  high  prices  : but,  during  most 
of  the  time,  the  price  of  admission  was  Is.  on  Mondays, 
Tuesdays,  Wednesdays  and  Thursdays.  On  Fridays 
it  was  2s.  6d.,  and  on  Saturdays  5s.  All  exhibitors  were 
furnished  with  free  tickets. 

As  a general  rule,  articles  from  each  of  the  different 
countries,  occupied  a separate  department  of  the  build- 
ing. As  might  have  been  expected,  Great  Britain  and 
her  dependencies,  furnished  about  one  half  of  the  arti- 
cles exhibited,  and  occupied  the  whole  of  the  building 
west  of  the  transept.  The  part  occupied  by  the  United 
States  was  at  the  east  end.  Between  this  and  the  tran- 
sept, were  arranged,  in  order,  the  productions  of  other 
countries— as  Russia,  the  German  States,  Austria,  Bel- 
gium, France,  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  Egypt,  Turkey, 
Greece,  Persia,  Switzerland,  China,  Brazil  and  Tunis. 
The  transept  and  nave  of  the  Palace  were  occupied  by 
fountains,  models  of  cities,  buildings  and  bridges,  and  a 
very  great  variety  of  choice  specimens  of  statuary.  At 
the  centre  of  the  crossing  of  the  transept  and  nave,  was 
a beautiful  fountain,  10  or  12  feet  high,  made  entirely  of 
glass,  and  called  the  crystal  fountain.  There  were  sev- 
eral other  fountains  playing  in  different  parts  of  the 
building.  For  the  proper  examination  of  the  articles, 
and  the  award  of  prizes,  they  were  divided  into  34 


LONDON  AND  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  143 


classes,  according  to  their  nature,  and  the  same  number 
of  juries  appointed.  Each  of  these  consisted  of  an  equal 
number  of  British  and  foreign  jurors,  and  each  had  its 
chairman;  and  the  chairmen  of  the  several  juries  con- 
stituted the  Council.  The  awards  were  two  kinds  of 
Medals,  called  the  Council  Medals  and  the  Prize  Medals. 
As  a general  thing,  the  Council  Medals  were  intended 
to  denote  genius,  contrivance,  or  mental  superiority  of 
some  kind,  while  excellency  of  material,  workmanship, 
product  &c.,  were  rewarded  by  Prize  Medals.  The 
whole  numberof  exhibitors  of  articles  was  about  17,000, 
and  the  whole  number  of  articles  submitted  to  the  ex- 
amination of  the  juries,  exceeded  1,000,000.  The  whole 
number  of  Medals  awarded  was  3088.  Of  these  170 
were  Council  Medals  and  2918  Prize  Medals.  Four 
Council  Medals  and  94  Prize  Medals,  (making  98  in  all,) 
were  awarded  to  exhibitors  from  the  United  States,  and 
the  whole  number  of  exhibitors  from  the  United  States 
was  534.  Hence  it  appears,  that  the  United  States  re- 
ceived 7 medals  more  than  their  proportion,  according 
to  the  number  of  exhibitors.  Fourteen  articles  were 
sent  from  Vermont,  and  3 Prize  Medals  were  awarded 
to  contributors  from  this  State. 

The  close  of  the  Exhibition,  on  the  15th  of  October, 
was  attended  with  much  less  display  and  ceremony 
than  its  opening,  on  the  1st  day  of  May.  The  chief 
exercises  were:  The  reading  of  the  reports  of  the  Ju- 
ries, by  Viscount  Canning ; Prince  Albert’s  reply  ; 
Prayer  by  the  Bishop  of  London  ; and  Music  by  the 
Choir, 


INDEX. 


Abbey,  Westminster,  92.  Green  House,  10. 

100,111.  Gulls,  17. 

Agricultural  Society , 41 . j Halle  avx  Tins 
Airy,  Professor,  81. 

Arc  de  Triomphe 
VEtoile,  33. 


18. 


Harwich,  73. 
dt ! Havre,  29,  50. 

Henry  VIL’s  Chapel, IOC 


Archbishop  of  Canter- Horticultural  Soc.,  43. 


bury,  88. 

Armory  in  the  Tower, 
103. 

Ball  to  the  Queen,  85. 
Beluga  leucas,  86. 
Bibliotheque  du  Boy,  45 
Botanical  Gardens, 40, 68 
British  Association,  68. 
Cedar  of  Lebanon,  40. 
Champ  de  Mars , 46. 
Champs- Elysees , 54. 
Charing  Cross  Bridge, 96 
Chart,  133.' 
Chiffoniers,  55. 
Coprolites,  75. 

Cowes,  27. 

Crag,  73. 

Crystal  Palace,  6G,  95 
99,  114,  140. 

Day’s  length,  20. 
Diamond,  Koh-i-noor 


Hotel  desEtr angers,  31 
“ “ Jnvalides,  46. 

Hypopotamus,  90. 
Icebergs,  15. 

Ipswich,  82. 


Phosphorescence  of  the 
Sea,  13,  119,  121. 
Placede  laConcordc, 54 
Plain  Breakfast,  59. 
Porpoises,  16,  18,  117, 
129. 

Prince  Albert,  70. 
dace,  Cape,  124. 
Raleigh’s  Cell,  103. 
Rail-Way  Cars,  61. 
Rainbows,  121. 

Regalia,  104. 


Jardin-des-Plantes,  32,  Refraction,  Effect  of,  14. 

41,  54.  Religious  Service,  128. 

Jewel  House,  103.  Review  of  Troops,  46. 
Lambeth,  88.  Scilly  Islands,  24. 

Library,  American,  36.  Sea-Sickness,  12,  117. 

“ National,  45.  Sedgwick,  Professor,  76. 
British  Muse-  S\ ip- Jacks,  13. 


urn,  '.jo. 

Living  in  Paris,  52. 
Logan,  Mr.,  84. 

L >g  Books,  28, 132. 
‘London,  134. 
Longitude  at  sea,  22. 
(Lords,  House  of,  66. 
j Louvre,  42. 
Luxembourg,  49. 


43. 


Mountain  of  Light,  99.1  Madeleine  Church,  34. 
Distances  fm  Lond.  139.  Marryatt,  Mrs.,  99. 
Distinction  between  ani-  Mold,  Professor,  36. 


Soiree,  111. 

Somerset  House,  97. 
Southampton,  59. 

St.  Germain  Church, 

St.  Martin’s-in-thc- 
1 Fields,  G3. 

St  Pancreas’  Ch.,  101. 
St.  Paul’s  Church,  98 
j 113. 

Sunday  in  Paris,  34. 
Sunrise,  23. 

Sunset,  129. 


mals  and  plants,  70.  Mother  Carey’s  Chick- Temple  Bar,  102. 


D’Obigny,  Professor,  33  ens,  17. 

Edystone  Lighthouse, 25  Museum,  British, 93. 


Excursion, Geological, 72 
Exhibition,  Great,  139.  iNational  Gallery,  84. 
Fire  Island,  131. 

Fishing,  18. 

Flower  Markets,  39 
Flying  Fish,  15. 

Forbes,  Professor,  62, 68| Pantheon,  50. 

Fossils  of  Ci'ag,  77.  Peace  Congress,  104. 
Garden  of  Plants,  39,54.  | Penitentiary,  87. 
Grand  Banks,  14,123.  jPetrels,  17. 

Great  Exhibition,  189.  iPhillips,  Professor,  73. 


Time  at  Sea,  22. 

Tower  of  London,  103. 
Garden  of  Plants, 40  Trafalgar  Square,  62. 

Tunnel,  Thames,  109. 
Needles,  26.  Vattemare,  A.  32. 

Nelson’s  Monument,  63.  Versailles,  48. 

Notre  Dame  Church,  37.  Waterloo  Bridge,  97. 
Owen,  Professor,  70.  ,Waves,  Height  of,  120. 

Whales,  19,  118. 
■Whirlwind,  122. 
Wimbledon  Common,  99 
Wren,  Christopher,  113. 


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